Ethics training is provided through a contract with CITI, and training is required for all staff listed on an IRB protocol. The training modules required will depend on the research being conducted. CITI training must be renewed once every five (5) years.
Register with CITI
Register for an account with CITI, affiliate with WVU and use your WVU login credentials upon registering. Plan to use the same email address as you would in your protocol, so the trainings link into WVU-kc. During the registration process, you will be prompted to select the ethics training courses that you plan to complete.
You will want to complete either the Biomedical Research Investigators course or the Social and Behavioral Research Investigators course, depending upon your research. The courses can be found under the Human Research section of the course registration screen.
Once you have completed the required courses with a score of 80% or better, you can proceed. Please note that you do not need to send ethics training documentation to the WVU OHRP as it should link into WVU-kc. If you do not see your ethics training, please ensure your primary email in WVU+kc and CITI match or use the following guide to attach a training certificate.
If you have taken the training at a previous institution and now you are doing research at West Virginia University, you will need to affiliate with WVU via CITI in order for us to have a record of your training. Additionally, if you are a WVU Medicine only employee (no dual appointment with HSC) please follow these instructions.
All Institutional Review Board members must complete the IRB Members CITI course.
Courses
Affiliated Researchers
One of these courses is required for all affiliated researchers on any IRB protocol:
- Biomedical Research Investigators
- Basic Course or Refresher Course*
- Social & Behavioral Research Investigators
- Basic Course or Refresher Course*
- IRB Members
- Anyone can take this course, however, it is more intensive than the prior two courses and is only required of IRB members
- Abbreviated Biomedical Research Investigators*
- Abbreviated Social & Behavioral Research Investigators*
*Refresher or abbreviated course only if taken before
Non-Affiliated Researchers
The Principal Investigator is responsible for ensuring that non-affiliated personnel have appropriate training for the protection of human subjects. Available options will vary depending on whether the non-affiliated personnel are affiliated with another organization with CITI access.
For personnel with CITI access, consider requiring one of the following:
- Abbreviated Biomedical Research Investigators
- Abbreviated Social & Behavioral Research Investigators
- Biomedical Research Investigators
- Social & Behavioral Research Investigators
For personnel without CITI access, consider these options:
- Department of Health and Human Services - Human Research Protection Foundational Training
- Department of Health and Human Services - Participant-Centered Informed Consent Training
- The Association of Clinical Research Professionals - Ethics and Human Subjects Protection: A Comprehensive Introduction
- Note: the option without contact hours is free to the public
- University of Illinois-Chicago - CIRTification: Community Involvement in Research Training
- Note: This course was specifically designed for community members engaged in community-based participatory research.
Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)
Responsible Conduct of Research
In addition to the IRB training requirements for research on human subjects research, RCR courses are recommended for all faculty, staff, and students involved in research and related activities. Furthermore, RCR courses are required for recipients of NIH training grants; undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers funded by NSF grant; and all project personnel funded by USDA-NIFA grants.
Review the RCR page for more information, or contact trisha.phillips@mail.wvu.edu
Administrator Confidentiality Agreement
OHRP provides direct access to CITI training records to help ensure departments can obtain training information 24/7. If you would like to delegate authorization to someone in your department to complete training checks, please complete the CITI Program Confidentiality Agreement on the Forms page and submit it to WVU OHRP.