CITI Training Requirements

Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU) requires researchers and other individuals involved in human participant research to complete appropriate training in the protection of human research participants. SVSU uses the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI Program) to provide this training.

Who Needs to Complete CITI Training?

CITI training is required for individuals whose research activities involve human participants, human biological specimens, or data derived from human participants. This may include:

Principal investigators and co-investigators
Faculty, staff, and student researchers
Research personnel who interact with participants or have access to identifiable research data
Individuals responsible for obtaining informed consent
Other members of a research team as determined by the Principal Investigator or IRB

The specific CITI course required depends on the type of research being conducted.

Accessing CITI Training

SVSU researchers must create or maintain a CITI Program account and affiliate their account with Saginaw Valley State University.

Step 1: Create or Access Your CITI Account

Go to the CITI Program website.
Select Log In or Register, as appropriate.
If you are creating a new account, follow the registration instructions.
When prompted to select an institutional affiliation, select Saginaw Valley State University.
If you have more than one institutional affiliation, you may add SVSU while retaining your other active affiliations.
If an institutional affiliation is no longer applicable, you may remove it from your account.

Step 2: View Your SVSU Courses

After logging into CITI:

Select View Courses under Saginaw Valley State University.
Your courses will be organized into three categories:
- Active Courses – Courses you have started but have not yet completed.
- Courses Ready to Begin – Courses you have selected but have not yet started.
- Courses Completed – Courses you have successfully completed.

Completed courses will display the course name and completion date. You can also view, print, or share your completion record. Keep a copy of your completion record, as it may be required as part of your IRB submission in IRBNet.

Step 3: Selecting Your CITI Course

If you need to add a course:

Select View Courses under Saginaw Valley State University.
Scroll to the bottom of the page.
Select Add a Course.
For research involving human participants, human samples, or data derived from humans, select:

“Yes, I conduct research with live human beings, human samples or with data derived from human beings.”

Select Next.
CITI will ask:

“In order to place you in the appropriate course we need to know if you have previously completed the Basic Course in the Protection of Human Research Subjects.”

Select the response that accurately reflects your prior CITI training.
Select Next.

Choose One Learner Group

CITI will then ask you to Choose One Learner Group. Select the group that most closely reflects the primary nature of your research.

Biomedical Research Investigators: Choose this group to satisfy CITI training requirements for investigators and staff involved primarily in biomedical research with human participants.
Social & Behavioral Research Investigators: Choose this group to satisfy CITI training requirements for investigators and staff involved primarily in social and behavioral research with human participants.

Select the learner group that best matches your research and continue to the next screen.

Good Clinical Practice (GCP)

The next screen will ask whether you would like to complete Good Clinical Practice (GCP) training. For general human participant research training, select: No, thanks.

You do not need to select a GCP course unless GCP training is specifically required for your research. After selecting No, thanks, your available CITI courses will appear. Select the appropriate course and begin the training.

If You Have Previously Completed CITI Training

If you have previously completed the required CITI course, check your Courses Completed section before adding a new course. If your previous course has expired, select the appropriate Refresher Course rather than repeating the basic course, when available. Your completed course record will show the course name and completion date and will provide the option to View/Print/Share Record. Save this documentation for your records and submit it through IRBNet when required.

Completing and Documenting Your Training

CITI courses may be completed over multiple sessions. If you leave a course before completing it, you can return to it under Active Courses.

Once you successfully complete the required course:

Select View Courses under Saginaw Valley State University.
Locate the course under Courses Completed.
Select View/Print/Share Record.
Save or print your completion record.
Upload the completion record to your IRBNet package when required.

Questions or Assistance

If you have questions about which CITI course to complete, whether your training is current, or how to document your training for an IRB submission, please contact the SVSU IRB Chair, Dr. Marcia Ditmyer, at irbchair@svsu.edu.

Who Must Be Trained?

Any individual conducting or participating in research involving human participants at Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU) must complete appropriate training in the protection of human research participants before engaging in research activities.

This requirement applies to all individuals involved in the conduct of the research, regardless of whether they are employed by SVSU, are students, or are working on the project through an external organization. Depending on their role, this includes:

Principal Investigators (PIs)
Co-investigators and other investigators
Faculty
Staff
Undergraduate and graduate students
Research assistants and research coordinators
Individuals who interact or intervene with research participants
Individuals who obtain, access, manage, or analyze identifiable research data
Consultants, contractors, collaborators, or other outside individuals working on the research project or grant whose activities involve human-subjects research

Each individual who is required to complete training must complete the training themselves. The Principal Investigator's completion of CITI training does not fulfill the training requirement for other members of the research team.

CITI Human-Subjects Research Training

SVSU uses the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI Program) to provide training in the protection of human research participants. SVSU's institutional subscription provides access to CITI training at no cost to SVSU researchers.

All individuals covered by the training requirement must complete the CITI course appropriate to their research activities. The requirement applies to both funded and non-funded research and to projects submitted to the IRB regardless of the level of review required, including Exempt, Expedited, or Full Board review.

Researchers should complete the required training before beginning human-subjects research activities and before the IRB approval or applicable determination is finalized.

CITI training may be completed in multiple sessions. Once a course is successfully completed, researchers should retain their completion record and provide the record through IRBNet when required.

Training Requirements for Federally Funded Research

In addition to SVSU's human-subjects research training requirements, federal funding agencies may impose additional training requirements.

The America COMPETES Act established requirements related to the Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) for certain federally funded research. Under applicable federal funding requirements, institutions may be required to certify that undergraduate and graduate students supported by a federal grant receive appropriate RCR training. Specific funding agencies and programs may establish additional requirements.

Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training is separate from CITI human-subjects research training. Completion of the CITI human-subjects course does not necessarily satisfy an agency's RCR requirement.

When a grant or funding agency requires RCR training, the Principal Investigator is responsible for ensuring that all individuals covered by the applicable grant or sponsor requirement complete the required training.

Funding agencies may have training requirements that exceed SVSU's requirements. Researchers and Principal Investigators are responsible for meeting both SVSU requirements and any applicable sponsor or federal requirements.

When Training Must Occur

Training must be completed before an individual begins the human-subjects research activities for which training is required. Training must also be current when an IRB application is submitted or when continuing approval or other applicable IRB action requires current training.

Researchers should monitor their training status and complete the appropriate refresher course before their certification expires. Unless a different period is required by SVSU, a funding agency, or the applicable training program, human-subjects research training should be renewed at least every three years.

IRB members and alternates must complete the training required for their IRB responsibilities upon appointment and participate in continuing education related to human-subjects research, applicable regulations, and SVSU policies.

Important Distinction: CITI and RCR Training

CITI human-subjects research training and RCR training serve different purposes:

CITI Human-Subjects Research Training focuses on the ethical and regulatory protection of people who participate in research.
RCR Training addresses responsible research practices such as research integrity, data management, publication and authorship, conflicts of interest, mentoring, collaboration, and research misconduct.

Researchers should complete both when both are required by SVSU, a funding agency, or a specific grant program.

Training Completed Outside of CITI

Researchers or study personnel from institutions outside of SVSU who have completed human subjects research training through a program other than CITI may submit documentation of their completed training for administrative review. The training will be evaluated to determine whether it is comparable to SVSU’s human subjects research training requirements and may be accepted in lieu of CITI training. If the training is determined not to meet SVSU requirements, completion of the appropriate CITI training will be required before the individual may participate in the research.

Contact Us