HRPP Training

Training for Students Conducting Class Projects 

Montclair State University is now offering CIRTification Online as the preferred training method for student class assignments or other educational activity. Ethics training for the purposes of fulfilling course requirements should no longer use CITI training modules. 

CIRTification Online is a free, web-based human research protections training program developed by the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). The training covers the following topics: 

  • Introduction to Research: The basic terminology, activities, and people involved in research and various ethical considerations.
  • Research History: Some research abuses that have happened in the past and the rules we have now to prevent those abuses.  This module also introduces the goals of community engagement in research and the important responsibilities shared by community research partners.
  • Eligibility & Recruitment: The importance of adhering to study inclusion/exclusion criteria and best practices identifying and recruiting research participants.
  • Informed Consent: The key components of informed consent, the kinds of information included in the consent form, how to respond to participants’ questions about enrollment and withdrawal, and discussion of practical challenges and good practices.
  • The Institutional Review Board: The people on the IRB, the process of submitting to the IRB, and the criteria that IRBs apply to the review of research.
  • Collecting & Protecting Data: How to protect participant privacy and keep data safe and confidential during collection, transport, and storage.
  • Handling Issues in the Field: What do to if you suspect a co-worker of falsifying data, run into a study participant outside of work, and get challenging questions from study participants

CITI training is still required for individuals conducting research that needs to be reviewed by the Montclair State University IRB. Students who are listed as holding a research team member designation on an electronically submitted Cayuse application must complete Human Subjects Research (HSR) training through CITI. If a student has already completed CIRTification, they still must complete the CITI HSR Training module for an electronically submitted application. 

Community partners and external collaborators who do not have access to human subject research training through CITI can use the CIRTification course to fulfill the requirement for training in the ethical treatment of human subjects as part of research for team members. PI’s should provide all members of the research team with the link to the CIRTification site, there is no permission needed from Montclair to use the site. PI’s need to include completed certificates of completion provided on the CIRTification site as part of their Cayuse submissions as appropriate. 

Visit the CIRTification website and select “Enroll in CIRTification” to begin the training. 

Required Training for Studies Reviewed by the IRB

CITI Program

Montclair State University requires that all faculty, staff, students and visitors who conduct human subjects research (HSR) must complete an initial training program on the protection of human participants. The Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI Program) is a web-based training platform that was founded in 2000 as a collaboration between the University of Miami and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Montclair State University joins more than 1,500 institutions and organizations and 2.8 million people committed to research ethics.

Individuals who conduct research include but are not limited to:

  • all Principal and Co-Principal Investigators
  • any individuals who are
    • listed as a research team member or study personnel in a Cayuse application
    • individually named on a grant or contract application
    • named in any documents related to the proposed project (e.g., informed consent documents, recruitment materials)
    • permitted to obtain individually identifiable Private Health Information (PHI)

The Principal Investigator is responsible for ensuring that all members have completed the HSR Students/Faculty Basic Course in CITI. For any research team members who are not affiliated with Montclair, please upload completion documentation of their institution's HSR training. 

Please follow the CITI Registration Instructions for new and returning users to register for the appropriate HSR course(s):

 Montclair State University CITI Registration Instructions

CITI FAQ's

It is not recommended that you try to take the CITI course in one sitting. The CITI program is designed so that you can easily exit and re-enter modules at your convenience. The estimated time for completion is anywhere from two to four hours.


 

After completing a course, your learner menu will display an option for “print” under status for the course.

If you do not see the course on your Main Menu, click on the link called “previous coursework completed” to access older course completion reports.

Your initial human subjects training is valid for three years. CITI will send you an automatic email reminder with ample time to complete the refresher modules. The refresher modules are significantly shorter than the original modules taken for the initial course. The first refresher course is required at three years after initial completion, and the second refresher course is required at six years after the initial completion. After the second refresher course is completed, certification is valid for 10 years, at which point the initial course must be taken again. 

Returning CITI users may simply log in to the CITI website and affiliate with Montclair State University to assess if the training completed is equivalent with the required University training. Some users may have to take additional modules.

To affiliate with Montclair State University after login to CITI:

  1. From your main menu click on the link “affiliate with another institution.”
  2. Choose Montclair State University from the appropriate drop down menu.
  3. Answer the member information questions required by your newly affiliated institution.
  4. Enroll in the course(s) required by your newly affiliated institution.

Not only will the CITI program improve the human subjects protections training you receive, but it also allows for added protections that permit you to take modules specifically suited to your research. For researchers working in specific areas or with specific populations, we may require additional modules, i.e., if you are doing research in elementary or high schools, we may require that you take a specific module as part of your training before receiving approval to work with those populations of participants.

For projects that are federally funded, or working with different study populations, you may be required to take additional courses. Please send an email to reviewboard@montclair.edu to verify that you have completed all of the courses required of you. 

The majority of CITI trainings include modules requiring users to watch educational videos, which may be problematic for researchers with visual impairments and/or sensitivities. As an alternative, CITI offers audio-visual formats, in addition to its classic formats, for most courses. In the audio-visual format, a slideshow presentation replaces actual videos, with the option to turn on audio narration as well. For instructions on how to turn on audio-visual format, as well as a list of CITI courses that offer it, please refer to the CITI website.