The Connecticut College Responsible Conduct of Research Policy was created in response to the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) implementation of Section 7009 of the America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science (COMPETES) Act (42 U.S.C. 1862o-1). This section of the Act requires "each institution that applies for financial assistance from the Foundation for science and engineering research or education describe in its grant proposal a plan to provide appropriate training and oversight in the responsible and ethical conduct of research to undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers participating in the proposed research project." (http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-19930.htm)

As stipulated in the NSF guidelines, Connecticut College requires all undergraduate students, graduate students and postdoctoral researchers supported by NSF to obtain training in the Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) and certification of training. The Principal Investigator (PI) on the NSF grant is responsible for ensuring that the student or postdoctoral researcher receive certification prior to their involvement with the NSF supported initiative. Guidelines for training plans are available at the Corporate, Foundation and Government Relations (CFGR) office and on the College’s CFGR web page.

Certification can be obtained once the student or postdoctoral researcher working on the NSF supported research has:

1.completed the applicable modules on the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) website (https://about.citiprogram.org/en/homepage/) and printed out their CITI certificate of completion, and

2. participated in a roundtable discussion on ethical conduct in research with the PI and other individuals working on the NSF supported research.

Roundtable discussions will be held twice yearly, one per semester, and organized and led by NSF supported PIs on campus. Once the Responsible Conduct of Research training is successfully completed, certificates will be signed by the Dean of Faculty and the PI. The PI is to keep a log of the training and certificates, and an original copy of each certificate is to be kept on file at the CFGR office.

To access the CITI training modules, go to https://about.citiprogram.org/en/homepage/, press the “Register” button, and create a new account, affiliating yourself with Connecticut College. Users who already have a CITI account should select the “Log in” button and affiliate the existing account with Connecticut College. Students and postdoctoral researchers should consult with their course professor or research advisor to determine which CITI module(s) is appropriate for their project.