The America COMPETES Act requires that, at a minimum, all undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral scholars supported by National Science Foundation (NSF) grants receive formal education in the responsible conduct of research. Under UCLA’s implementation of this law, all individuals supported by a grant subject to this requirement are expected to complete an on-line course, based upon the National Academy of Sciences publication On Being a Scientist and developed for the campus research community by a group of UCLA faculty.
The UCLA NSF RCR course can be accessed in two ways:
1. Through the UCLA Learning Management System (LMS)
Faculty and staff including undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral scholars who are paid as employees or received stipends under NSF grants will receive notification of the course requirement via the UCLA Learning Management System (LMS) and an explanation of how to access the course. LMS will track completion of the course in accordance with NSF requirements. UCLA employees who are supported under NSF grants and students receiving stipends under NSF awards must take the course via LMS so that completion of the requirement is recorded for audit purposes.
Other UCLA employees who wish to take the course may also access it through the UCLA Learning Management System (LMS). The course can be found under “Research Administration and Practices.” It is called “UCLA Responsible Conduct of Research.”
2. Through the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI)
Students and other members of the UCLA research community who do not have access to LMS and who are not required to complete the course can access an identical version of the course is available through the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) website. When selecting their learner group, these individuals should choose “University of California Los Angeles Responsible Conduct of Research for Affiliates.” When they return to their list of courses, those individuals should look for the “University of California, Los Angeles Responsible Conduct of Research for Affiliates, Basic Course.”
Additional information and resources on the responsible conduct of research can be found on the UCLA Research Policy and Compliance (RPC) website at: http://www.research.ucla.edu/researchpol/policies.htm under “Miscellaneous Research Policy and Guidance Documents.”