FAQs

MIT has selected the CITI course in the Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research (RECR) to provide a basic course in RECR. We encourage everyone in the MIT community to take this training. Below are the answers to some commonly asked questions.

Training Requirement

  • All Principal Investigators, Co-PIs and senior personnel named on NSF proposals submitted on or after July 31, 2023, and undergraduate students, graduate students and postdoctoral associates and fellows supported on NSF awards must complete RECR training. 

    MIT uses the online CITI Program to meet this requirement. Subaward Investigators and researchers from other institutions should complete training through their own institutions.

  • Take the RECR Basic Course if you have not completed RECR training before.

    Take the RECR Refresher Course if you previously completed RECR training before July 1, 2023. The refresher course includes modules on mentorship and data management, which were not available prior to July 2023.

  • All Principal Investigators, Co-PIs and senior personnel named on NSF proposals submitted on or after July 31, 2023, and undergraduate students, graduate students and postdoctoral associates and fellows supported on NSF awards must complete RECR training. Other agencies may have other RECR training requirements. Please check with the sponsor to learn about agency-specific RECR requirements, or contact ra-help@mit.edu for assistance

  • The RECR training requirement applies to new NSF proposals to conduct research, which excludes conference, symposium, workshop, or travel proposals.

  • Yes. The RECR training requirement does flow down to all subawardees at any tier. MIT must therefore ensure that these RECR requirements are appropriately met.

  • Yes. Charges will need to be retroactively removed if training is not completed.

  • If you are required to complete RECR training for an NSF award for a proposal submitted after July 31, 2023, but completed RECR training before July 1, 2023, you will need to complete the RECR Refresher Course.

When to Complete Training

  • No. It is not required that the training be completed at that time. MIT policy requires that training be completed within 60 days of their salary being charged to the account. RAS strongly recommends that the training be completed within 30 days.

  • No.

CITI Course and Troubleshooting

  • There are instructions for certificate installation at http://ca.mit.edu.

  • See instructions to affiliate training taken elsewhere.

  • Log back in using the same email address that you used when you did the online training. Select "Print Completion Report" and review it carefully. 
    Be sure you have taken Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research. This is different from Human Subject training, which is a separate requirement for some people.