IRB Training

Training for CITI

St. Cloud State University uses the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) to provide free IRB online training for various learner groups served on campus. 

All investigators and research personnel (research assistants, students, faculty mentors and board members) involved with human subject research are required to complete IRB training, regardless of funding source. The training provides a base knowledge for the ethical and responsible treatment of human subjects and is required per our FederalwideAssurance. Training must be completed prior to the submission of an IRB protocol.

1. Log into CITI

1. Click on Register to create an account
2. Select your organization affiliation by typing in St. Cloud it should populate for you to select. Be sure to check that you agree to terms of service and affirm that you are an affiliate of St. Cloud State University. Once complete, Click “Continue to Create your CITI Program Username/Password.”
3. Complete the required fields and click - Use your St. Cloud State email address as your primary email. Once complete click on “Continue to Step 3.”
4. Create a username and password as well as select a security question and provide your answer.
5. Fill in country of residence and select whether or not you want to receive information about other courses and services from CITI.
6. Check yes or no as to whether or not you are interested in receiving optional Continuing Education Credits for your CITI courses (Note: for our SCSU IRB purposes you can select "no").
7. Complete the required fields.
8. You will have a series of questions to answer. Read through this entire question and select your answer. Once complete Click “Next”.
   1. For question two, select "IRB Training for Research with Human Subjects."
   2. For question three, select the training based on whether you are employed by SCSU as a faculty or staff member, a graduate student, or an undergraduate student.
9. You will be brought to this screen showing that you are enrolled in the course. You can elect to start the course when you are ready.
10. Once you have started the course you will see your course name at the top & you will need to Agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy and Cookie Policy in order to access the course modules. Once complete click “Submit.”
11. You will be brought to this screen which will show your course name, instructions, progress, and scores at the top with ability to begin the courses further down the page. There are also optional supplemental modules that can be completed if you wish.

For questions or issues with CITI, contact the IRB Administrator Candy Swenson at cmswenson1@stcloudstate.edu. 

2. Determine the level of training you need to complete

• Undergraduate Student: 2 required modules, 1 elective module. Note: if you plan to attend graduate school, recommend completing the training at the graduate student level since training is good for five years and fairly standardized across institution
• Graduate Student: 3 required modules, 1 elective module
• SCSU Faculty/Staff: 4 required modules, 2 elective modules
• IRB Board Member: 6 required modules, 2 elective modules

2. Download your completion certificate

Upon conclusion of the required training and electives, your records will show the score, start date, completion date, expiration date and a completion record. It is recommended you save the certificate for your records as it will need to be attached as a PDF to any IRB protocols that are submitted.

Certificate Download Instructions

1. Go to the CITI Program home page
2. Click the log in button
3. Enter your CITI credentials and select log in
4. From your profile page, click on the "My Records" tab
5. You will now be able to view all completed trainings; click on "View Print Share."
6. You will be presented with several options - copy link, view/print, or share on LinkedIn. Select "View/Print."
7. From there you can either download to your computer or print.

3.  Complete Refresher training prior to CITI expiration