Policies & Related Training Resources

Research Training Matrix

Proper training of principal investigators and research faculty is essential for conducting research with integrity, rigor, and ethical considerations. It helps ensure that all research conducted at Northeastern is done in compliance with relevant laws, regulations, and guidelines, and enhances the credibility and reliability of research findings. This page explains the University’s research training and policy requirements, including resources and platforms used to complete these requirements.

Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)

Training Module(s)

  • In-person Modules
    • The course is approximately eight hours long, with significant researcher facilitation and administrative support, and uses discussions and case studies to examine basic ethical and regulatory requirements for conducting research. Course requirements include attendance at 7 workshop sessions, (each 1-2 hours in length), participation in class discussions and a capstone presentation. A certificate will be issued to all participants upon successful course completion. In some circumstances, online modules supported by the University are an appropriate and sufficient training platform.
  • Online Module: CITI – Northeastern University (ID: 13880) 
    • The University subscribes to the CITI Training program platform to provides researchers the required training. The University requires researchers with awards receive RCR training every 4 years. In some circumstances, students and post-doctoral researchers may present documentary evidence (e.g., certificate of completion or copy of an undergraduate or graduate transcript showing successful completion of an RCR course within the last 4 years), for review and approval by the relevant office to demonstrate satisfactory RCR training in fulfillment of the University requirement.

Related University Policy(s)

  • Policy on Responsible Conduct of Research
    • This policy applies to students, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and investigators supported on applicable research awards funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) or any extramural funding organization that makes RCR a term and condition of its award.
    • Policy requirement: Per Section IV. of the Policy, “In order to facilitate more meaningful training, modules will be tailored for the four broad disciplinary categories of biomedical research, social and behavioral research, physical science, and humanities. Detailed instruction in the last two content areas is required for those engaging in human subject research, animal research, and laboratory research, and is provided through the Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) and Institutional Animal Care & Use Committees (IACUCs) respectively.”

Federal Agency Requirement(s)

  • NIH Individual and Institutional Awardees
    • All trainees, fellows, participants, and scholars receiving support through any NIH training, career development award (individual or institutional), research education grant, and/or dissertation research grant must receive instruction in the responsible conduct of research. The NIH training requirement states that asynchronous online instruction alone is not sufficient to satisfy the training requirement. NIH expects face-to-face interaction and discussion to occur among trainees, fellows, scholars, and/or participants conducted in-person and in a live synchronous online format. According to NIH’s procedures, trainees on a early career award, which includes (an institutional research training grant, individual fellowship, career development award, research education grant, dissertation research grant, or other grant programs) are required to have a minimum of eight hours of formal instruction at least once during each career stage and at least every four years. This NIH policy affects all new, renewal, and noncompeting applications.
  • NSF Awardees
    • All undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers who are supported by NSF financial assistance awards to conduct research on research grants are required to comply with the NSF training policy. Conference, symposium, workshop, and travel awards are exempt from this requirement.
    • The NSF allows for in-person training or CITI training to complete the RCR requirement. Students paid by NSF awards can elect to attend one or more in-person workshops or take the CITI online training to satisfy the requirement.
  • USDA-NIFA Awardees
    • All undergraduate students, graduate students and postdoctoral researchers receiving support through any USDA-NIFA award must receive instruction in the responsible conduct of research. 
    • The USDA/NIFA allows for in-person training or CITI training to complete the RCR requirement. Students paid by USDA/NIFA awards can elect to attend one or more in-person workshops or take the CITI online training to satisfy the requirement.

Main Points of Contact

For any RCR related inquiries, please refer to the Northeastern Responsible Conduct of Research webpage.

NU-RES Compliance Office Phone Number: (617) 317-5600

Email: researchcompliance@northeastern.edu

Export Control

Training Module(s)

The University subscribes to the CITI Training program platform to provides researchers the required export control related training. The University requires researchers with awards that requires export control training, receive such training every 3 years. CITI – Introduction to Export Compliance (ID: 16800)

Related University Policy(s)

  • Policy on Export Controls
    • This policy applies to all members of the university community in the conduct of university business, including faculty, staff, students, visiting scientists and scholars, post-doctoral fellows, and all other persons retained by or working at the university to conduct research, teach, or provide services at or on behalf of the University.
    • Policy requirement: Per Section IV. of the Policy: “If export control training and other security training will be required, the Research Compliance office will assign, conduct or coordinate the relevant training. Other trainings may be available from time to time by or upon request from the Office of the General Counsel, NU_RES, and/or the Compliance Department. For additional resources, please consult: Northeastern University’s Export Control Compliance Manual“.
  • Policy on Openness in Research
    • This policy applies to research conducted at Northeastern University by faculty, students, staff and visiting researchers.

Main Points of Contact

For any export-control related inquiries, please refer to the Northeastern Export Control webpage.

NU-RES Compliance Office Phone Number: (617) 317-5600

Email: exportcontrol@northeastern.edu

Research Misconduct

Training Module(s)

The University subscribes to the CITI Training program platform to provides researchers the required training on research misconduct. The University requires researchers with awards that requires this training, receive such training every 3 years. CITI – Research Misconduct (RCR-Basic) (ID: 16604).

Related University Policy(s)

  • Policy on Research Misconduct
    • This policy applies to students, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and investigators supported on applicable research awards funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) or any extramural funding organization that makes RCR a term and condition of its award.

Federal Agency Requirement(s)

  • NIH Individual and Institutional Awardees
    • All undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and investigators who are supported by NIH financial assistance awards to conduct research on research grants are required proof of training certification.
  • NSF Awardees
    • All undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and investigators who are supported by NSF financial assistance awards to conduct research on research grants are encouraged to keep proof of training certification.

Main Points of Contact

For any inquiries related to research misconduct, please refer to the Northeastern Responsible Conduct of Research webpage or the Northeastern Research Integrity & Transparency webpage.

NU-RES Compliance Office Phone Number: (617) 317-5600

Email: researchcompliance@northeastern.edu

Humans Subjects Research

Training Module(s)

The Office of Human Subject Research Protection (HSRP) has additional requirements regarding human subject research, please visit their website.

Related University Policy(s)

  • Policy on Human Subjects Research
    • This policy applies to all research involving human subjects conducted by faculty, staff, and/or students at the University, except that research conducted or assigned as part of their coursework is governed by the Policy on Classroom Research.
    • Policy Requirement: Per Section III. of the Policy, “In addition, Northeastern University requires completion of training on the protection of human subjects and the ethical principles of research for all human subject research, regardless of whether or not investigators have received funding to support their project. This training is mandatory for all faculty, staff, and students who conduct/supervise research involving human subjects whether on campus or off-campus, whether funded or unfunded.”
  • Policy on Classroom Research Involving Human Subjects
    • This policy applies to all research conducted by students as part of their coursework at the University. It also applies to both student researchers and faculty supervisors. Clinical research, thesis and dissertation projects involving human subjects do not fall under this policy and require review by the IRB under the Policy on Human Subjects Research.

Federal Agency Requirement(s)

  • NIH Individual and Institutional Awardees
    • All undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and investigators who are supported by NIH financial assistance awards to conduct research on research grants require proof of certification.
  • NSF Awardees
    • All undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and investigators who are supported by NSF financial assistance awards to conduct research on research grants require proof of training certification.

Main Points of Contact

For human subjects related research training inquiries and further instructions, visit the the Northeastern HSRP Website or contact the Office of Human Subject Research Protection at irbreview@northeastern.edu.

Animals in Research & Teaching Activities

Training Module(s)

The University subscribes to the CITI Training program platform to provides researchers the required training on using animal subjects in research activities. The University requires researchers with awards that requires this training, receive such training every 3 years. CITI course – Using Animal Subjects in Research (RCR-Basic) (ID: 13301)

Additional information about specific training regarding vertebrate animals will be assigned by the Division of Laboratory Animal Medicine (DLAM).

Related University Policy(s)

  • Policy on the Use Animals in Research and Teaching Activities
    • This policy applies to students, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and investigators conducting research or teaching in Northeastern facilities with the use of any vertebrate animals.
    • Training Requirement: Determined by the Division of Laboratory Animal Medicine (DLAM)

Main Points of Contact

For animal subjects related research training inquiries, contact dlam@northeastern.edu. For more general information, visit the Northeastern IACUC website.

IACUC Office Phone Number: 617-373-3955

Environmental Health & Safety

Related University Policy(s)

  • Policy on Environmental Health and Safety
    • This policy applies to all Principal Investigators, Lab Managers, Lab Group Managers, Compliance Liaisons, Students, Department Chairs, Research Administrators engaging in research activities on behalf of the university.
    • Policy Requirement: Training requirements determined by the responsible office. However, all researchers and students in active labs must have BioRAFT accounts, the OARS risk management platform. In addition, PI, Lab manager, Group Manager or Group Compliance Liaison are solely responsible for updating their member list every semester and determining job activity assignments in BioRAFT. OARS does not “assign” training.

Main Points of Contact

For any training-specific inquiries related to Environmental Health & Safety, please refer to the Office of Academic & Research Safety (OARS) training webpage. For other general inquiries, refer to the Office’s main website.

OARS Office Phone Number: 617-373-2769

Email: ehs@northeastern.edu

Use of Unmannered Aircraft Systems (UAS) a.k.a Drones

Related University Policy(s)

  • Policy on Use of Unmannered Aircraft Systems (UAS) a.k.a “Drones”
    • This policy applies to all members of the university community in the conduct of university business, including faculty, staff, students, visiting scientists and scholars, post-doctoral fellows, and all other persons retained by or working at the university to conduct research, teach, or provide services at or on behalf of the University.
    • Training Requirement: The FAA and NU-UAS Review Board requires a drone pilot license for any uses of UAS’s including educational/research, recreational, or commercial purposes.

Federal Agency Requirement(s)

  • Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requires a special flight operations certificate (SFOC).

Main Points of Contact

For any training inquiries related the usage of UAS, please refer to the Northeastern Unmannered Aircraft Systems Website. For general questions on Northeastern’s UAS policy and guidance, visit: https://risk-services.sites.northeastern.edu/uas-drones/. For federal policy inquiries, visit: https://www.faa.gov/uas/commercial_operators/become_a_drone_pilot

To report a suspected violation of the policy, contact NUPD at 617-373-2121

Other Research Policies

Online NSF Compliance Training

  • The NSF training online course has moved to Canvas; Login to the Canvas course and select the NSF Training from your courses menu
    • Relevant Employees have already been enrolled in the course; for all others, you may self enroll in the course – log in using Duo authentication, and select the “Enroll in Course” button so that your completion is recorded
    • Canvas automatically sends email confirmations of module completions 1 hour after the course completion is recorded.
  • Canvas supports the current and first previous major releases of the following browsers:
    • Chrome 85 and 86
    • Firefox 80 and 81 (Extended Releases are not supported*)
    • Edge 85 and 86
    • Respondus Lockdown Browser (supporting the latest system requirements)
    • Safari 13 and 14 (Macintosh only)
  • Allow pop-ups on all browsers.
  • If you start a module, either complete it or close it and resume later if you need to continue the training at a later time.
    • Connections to Canvas, including those off campus, will time out if left unattended for extended periods of time;
  • Remember to close the module browser window when finished in order to log completion in Canvas.
  • Readers who are accessing with screen-reading software should use:
    • Macintosh:
    • VoiceOver(latest version for Safari)
    • PC: JAWS(latest version for Firefox)
    • PC: NVDA (latest version for Firefox)
    • There is no screen reader support for Canvas in Chrome

Questions can be directed to NSFTraining@northeastern.edu.

Additional Training Platform: CITI Program at Northeastern University

  • CITI Training
  • Financial Compliance Training
  • NSF Training
  • Intro to Cognos; Cognos Training Calender
  • Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI)