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RCR is everyone’s responsibility and requires vigilance and ongoing introspection. The Graduate School and the Office of Research Integrity and the Office of Research collaborate in the oversight of RCR training at UCCS. Through a competitive process, an RCR Faculty Fellow designs, manages, and participants in the live RCR workshop. An evaluation report is produced, updated, and made publicly available.

All grant funded trainees and faculty mentors are required to complete the online Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) program. In addition, all students staff and faculty who engage in research are invited to participate in live (in-person/virtual/or hybrid) RCR active learning workshops. Participants register in advance to attend this half-day workshop typically scheduled right before the start of Fall semester. The RCR active learning workshop uses multiple modes of learning including: case studies, role-playing, published papers on RCR, mock examples of data entry forms, IRB applications, mentoring contract templates, as well as book and film discussions. Each ½ day workshop is designed and implemented by the RCR Fellow who selects the content and presentation format for the featured topic(s). The topics change each year, so that continual engagement is possible.

Faculty take part in the RCR training workshops as either participants or as the rotating local experts leading the session(s). Faculty investigators must also implement individualized RCR training that aligns with their labs, projects, and/or field site needs to ensure that any students, postdoctoral scholars, or other persons performing work on the project have received proper training and education in the area of Responsible Conduct of Research that is suitable to the particular research project. The RCR Faculty Fellow is themselves a faculty member who often partners with other faculty to prepare content.

This ½ day long series rotates the topics (see subject matter below) such that by the end of the day at least 8 of 11 topics are covered and participants have a selection in which topics are most relevant to their research agenda. Our M.S. Teams channel provides a platform for ongoing discussion and connection on the topic of RCR throughout the year. Participants who complete the ½ day workshop receive an RCR Annual Certificate of Completion. The topics change each year, so that continual engagement is possible.

RCR training is offered for every stage of the scientific career with the intention of reengagement every four years. We promote RCR training to undergraduate, post-baccalaureate, pre-doctoral, post-doctoral researchers, pre-tenure faculty, and post-tenure faculty alike. We encourage on-going circumspection and therefor update the RCR ½ day workshop each time it is offered.