You Need Flash Player 10 and JavaScript enabled to view this media contentRCR Program Basics
Availability
RCR instruction is available to all students and post-doctoral researchers in the sciences* and engineering, and may be required by your program director, mentor or Principal Investigator
If you are not a Covered Individual paid from a Covered Award (defined below), ask your program director, mentor or Principal Investigator whether you should complete RCR.
*Science is a broadly defined to include all fields of science, e.g. physical, mathematical & statistical, computer, biological, biomedical, social, economic and behavioral sciences.
When is RCR required for Compliance?
RCR instruction is required by NSF and NIH for students and post-doctoral researchers, if they are “Covered Individuals” on “Covered Awards” as defined below
Definitions: Covered Awards and Covered Individuals:
NSF: All NSF awards to BU or BMC, made on proposals submitted on or after January 4, 2010, are Covered Awards. Covered Individuals include all undergraduates, graduate students, or postdoctoral researchers who receive financial support from these Covered Awards to conduct research.
NIH: All NIH Training Grants* to BU or BMC, regardless of date of proposal submission, are Covered Awards. Covered Individuals include all “trainees, fellows, participants, and scholars receiving support” from Covered Awards. This includes all students and all postdoctoral researchers who receive financial support and participate, at any time, as beneficiaries of the program supported by the training grant.
*NIH Training grants include awards under the following programs: D43, D71, F05, F30, F31, F32, F33, F34, F37, F38, K01, K02, K05, K07, K08, K12, K18, K22, K23, K24, K25, K26, K30, K99/R00, KL1, KL2, R25, R36, T15, T32, T34, T35, T36, T37, T90/R90, TL1, TU2, and U2R and any other NIH-funded programs supporting research training, career development, or research education that require instruction in responsible conduct of research as stated in the relevant funding opportunity announcements.
Postdoctoral Researchers: For purposes of the RCR Program, Postdoctoral Researchers include individuals who have received a doctoral degree (or equivalent) and is engaged in a temporary and defined period of mentored advanced training to enhance the professional skills and research independence needed to pursue his or her chosen career path. http://grants.nih.gov/training/Reed_Letter.pdf. This includes all Boston University Postdoctoral Fellows and Postdoctoral Associates (and Senior PDA) (see Academic Research Job Family) and may include others who do not currently have these titles but fit the functional definition.
How to Earn a BU RCR Certificate of Completion
A BU RCR Certificate of Completion is issued by the Office of Research Compliance and will indicate:
- Program level completed—either Introductory (for undergraduates) Intermediate (for master’s degree candidates) or Advanced (for doctoral degree candidates and postdoctoral researchers)
- The content of the program completed
- That the recipient has met BU requirements under the BU RCR Plan for individuals (at the given level) paid from NSF Covered Awards.
- That the recipient has met basic NIH requirements for individuals (at the given level) paid from NIH Teaching Grants, provided that the individual must also complete any requirements of the RCR Training Plan in the NIH Training Grant.
Undergraduates: How to earn a BU RCR Certificate:
Introductory RCR Program Requirements |
When to be done |
| All participants must complete Introductory RCR-Online
__________________ Program Exception: Covered Individuals-NIH Master’s degree candidates, Undergraduates and high school students who are paid from NIH Covered Awards must comply in a timely manner with the NIH-approved RCR Training Plan in the NIH award. See, your Principal Investigator or Mentor. Special RCR programs may be offered in conjunction with ORC, with the possibility of earning a certificate. |
Covered Individuals-NSF
Undergraduates who are paid from NSF Covered Awards must complete within thirty days after beginning wor`k on a NSF Covered Award All other participants may complete Introductory RCR-Online at any time |
Masters Degree Candidates: How to earn a BU RCR Certificate:
Intermediate RCR Program |
Requirements |
When to be done |
| Step 1: Introductory RCR-Online | All participants must complete Introductory RCR-Online | New NSF Covered Individuals (defined above) must complete within thirty days after beginning paid work as a master’s degree candidate on a NSF Covered Award
All other participants may complete Intermediate RCR at any time |
| Step 2: CITI RCR Modules | All participants must complete the three required RCR Modules on Data Management, Authorship and Publication, and Research Misconduct and Whistle-blowing.
To Enroll:
|
Doctoral Degree Candidate and Post-doctoral Researchers: How to earn a BU RCR Certificate:
Advanced RCR Program |
Requirements |
When to be done |
| Step 1: RCR Online Preparation |
All participants must complete Advanced RCR- Online Preparation | New Covered Individuals (defined above) must complete within thirty days after beginning paid work as a doctoral degree candidate or post-doctoral researcher on a NSF or NIH Covered Award.
All other participants must complete prior to attendance at next RCR Live. |
| Step 2: RCR Live |
All participants must complete: A. The four Core Live Workshops * See 2011-2012 Schedule *Registration instructions for workshops are e-mailed to all participants who have either completed Step 1 or have attended a past workshop OR B. An Alternative RCR Program (if eligible) (e.g. CH801 and CS697) |
All participants must complete RCR Live during the remainder of the individual’s graduate degree program (if a graduate degree candidate) at the University or during twenty-four months, whichever is shorter. (For those enrolled in the Core Live Workshops, at least two workshops must be completed every twelve months.) |