Training and Education

All investigators and personnel engaged in human subjects research must complete the Human Subjects Research (HSR) course in CITI. 

There are three (3) HSR course options called 'Groups' available in CITI. Individuals must select and complete the appropriate course based on the type of research proposed. 

• Group 1: Biomedical Research, or
• Group 2: Social/Behavioral Research, or
• Group 3: Both Biomedical and Social/Behavioral Research  

IMPORTANT: OU investigators, key study personnel, and research staff engaged in human research activities must renew their CITI training every 3 years in order to maintain human subjects research training. 

Before your current CITI modules expire, you will receive an e-mail reminder from CITI  at 60 days, 30 days, and 7 days before your certification expires, and 1 day after your certification has expired.

Training status is assessed by the IRB at the time points and submissions listed below. The listed submissions will not be processed or approved until training is current for all key personnel:

• New studies (Initial Submission Packets)
• Continuing Review
• Annual Check-In
• Modifications to add new key personnel

Investigators and key study personnel from Norman who submit to OUHSC IRB shall affiliate with OUHSC in CITI and complete either Group 1 or Group 3 if the research is biomedical (e.g., medical, clinical, or FDA-regulated) in nature. 

The social/behavioral course through OU-Norman in CITI is accepted for Norman-based individuals who are collaborating with OUHSC researchers on social/behavioral research.

Non-OU Collaborators (researchers and key study personnel from outside institutions) who are engaged in human research that is under OUHSC IRB's oversight must provide a current copy of their CITI human research or other equivalent human research protection training required by their institution. 

NOTE: Conflict of Interest, HIPAA, Good Clinical Practice, and Responsible Conduct of Research alone will not suffice as human research protection training. 

If a collaborator's institution does not offer human research protection training, Non-OU Collaborators may complete OUHSC IRB's training in CITI.  

Other Alternative Human Research Protection Training that we accept for Non-OU Collaborators: 

• Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) Human Research Protection Foundational Training - free, web-based 
• CIRTification Training for Community-Based Research Partners - free, web-based

Individuals have access to 3 different GCP course options in CITI:

1. Good Clinical Practice
2. GCP - Social/Behavioral Research Best Practices for Clinical Research
3. GCP for Clinical Investigations of Devices 

Enforced and monitored by the Research Integrity Office, all individuals who conduct or oversee research, or are eligible to oversee or conduct research, must complete the RCR training in CITI. 

This requirement is in addition to the Human Subjects Research training required by the IRB. The RCR course alone will not satisfy IRB training requirements. 

OUHSC HRPP does not monitor RCR compliance or certifications. 

Visit the Research Integrity Office for more information about RCR training requirements. 

The way the training rules are built into iRIS to accommodate both OU-Norman and OUHSC, iRIS is unable to interpret the "OR" rule correctly. Therefore, you will always receive a message that indicates a training issue. You can disregard the message. Our office will receive your submission and HRPP staff will review the training for all KSP to ensure the requirements are satisfied. We will return the submission to you with stipulations that address any issues related to training requirements. 

If ever you are unsure, please contact our office first before asking any KSP on your study to complete additional training. 

OU has multiple organizations in CITI. 

• OU-Norman Campus = "University of Oklahoma" and 
• OUHSC = "University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center".  

If you selected the wrong OU organization, you will not gain access to the right courses in CITI. You must change your affiliation to OUHSC in order to access the correct CITI courses. 

See "How do I add and affiliate with OUHSC in CITI?" for more information. 

If you need to change your institution, you will need to use the "add"/"affiliate" option in CITI. Log into your account in CITI and scroll down to the Learner Tools section of your screen. Click the "Affiliate with another institution" option. From there, search for and select University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. Follow the CITI prompts and navigation to complete your CITI account profile and then add your required courses in CITI. 

Detailed step-by-step instructions are available in the CITI Resources box on this page. 

Yes. There is a link that feeds your training information from CITI into iRIS. You must use your OUHSC email address in CITI and format it correctly for the feed to work. All letters in your first and last name must be lowercase in your email address. For most users, your email will follow this format: firstname-lastname@ouhsc.edu. 

No. The GCP course alone will not meet or satisfy the IRB training requirements. All individuals who will serve as PI or KSP on human research studies must complete the appropriate Human Subjects Research course in CITI.

"Appropriate" means that you select the correct group that corresponds with the nature/type of research you will conduct (biomedical, social/behavioral, or both). 

No. The RCR course alone will not meet or satisfy the IRB training requirements. All individuals who will serve as PI or KSP on human research studies must complete the appropriate Human Subjects Research course in CITI.

"Appropriate" means that you select the correct group that corresponds with the nature/type of research you will conduct (biomedical, social/behavioral, or both). 

In short, no. OUHSC has local, customized content in CITI and therefore, all individuals who will serve as PI or KSP on human research studies must affiliate with OUHSC in CITI and complete the appropriate Human Subjects Research Basic course.

IMPORTANT: If you hold current BASIC course-level training in CITI through your previous organization, you will receive credit for any shared modules when you affiliate with OUHSC. This means that you will only be required to complete modules specific to OUHSC. 

OUHSC requires an 80% score or higher on all module quizzes for the Human Subjects Research course. Log into CITI, open the course, and review the scores for each completed module. Review and re-take the quiz for any module that has a score below 80%. 

Once all modules have a score of 80% or higher, the course will be completed and you will receive a completion/expiration date along with access to a certificate and completion report.