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University of Wisconsin–Madison

Training Options for External Personnel

As of fall 2018, external personnel (community members, collaborators from other institutions, etc.) are no longer required to obtain a NetID in order to complete training. External personnel can now complete required training via the methods introduced below. The appropriate training method depends on the whether the external personnel are affiliated with an institution or entity with an IRB or not. Please see the corresponding section below for more information. NOTE: existing external personnel who already have a NetID should continue to access training through CITI.

If you have questions about any of these alternate training options or other questions about providing training to external personnel, please contact: citisupport@research.wisc.edu

External personnel affiliated with an institution or entity with an IRB

  • External personnel in this category who have not yet completed a required training may have access to training via their home institution. This method is preferred as it takes advantage of existing mechanisms for training renewal that may be in place at that institution. UW study teams should maintain copies of the external training completion certificates to ensure external personnel have current training for the duration of their involvement in the research.
  • If external personnel in this category do not have access to required training at their home institution, the UW study team can provide those personnel with an option from the "External personnel not-affiliated with an institution or entity with an IRB (Individual Investigators)" section below.

External personnel NOT affiliated with an institution or entity with an IRB (Individual Investigators)

For external personnel in this category who do not already have access to training, the UW study team can use the lists below to provide the required training. See the below for Human Subjects Protections (HSP) training and Good Clinical Practice (GCP) training options.

Human Subjects Protections Training

There are two primary HSP training options available, as described in the corresponding sections below. Either training is accepted. However, CIRTification is best suited for community research partners.

NOTE: In the rare case that neither option is feasible (e.g., there are language or technology barriers), please email citisupport@research.wisc.edu to discuss alternative training options. The appropriateness of alternative training will be determined on a case-by-case basis, and alternative training should not be used without prior consultation with IRB staff or citisupport@research.wisc.edu.

External personnel can create an account in CITI that is affiliated with UW-Madison and complete UW-Madison’s CITI training by following the below steps:

  1. Register via the CITI Program
  2. In the section titled “Select Your Organization Affiliation”, type and select “University of Wisconsin – Madison”. DO NOT select “University of Wisconsin – Madison (SSO)”.
  3. Read and check “I AGREE to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy for accessing CITI Program materials” if you agree.
  4. Check “I affirm that I am affiliate of University of Wisconsin – Madison”
  5. Click “Continue To Create Your CITI Program Username/Password”
  6. Continue through the additional steps to set up your profile. An email address issued by UW-Madison is NOT required under “Institutional Email Address”.
  7. Complete question 2 and click submit at the bottom of the page.
  8. Once you have the courses in your account, click on the course title (UW Human Subjects Protections Course) to begin the course and follow the instructions within CITI to complete your training. On average, it takes two hours to complete the course. Courses can be completed in multiple sessions.
  9. Successful completion requires a composite score of 85% on the quizzes. Quizzes can be repeated in order to achieve this score.
  10. Once the course is complete, click “View-Print-Share Record” next to the course in your course list. Then click “View / Print” to print your Completion Certificate. Provide this certificate to the UW-Madison study team to document training completion.

To complete this training, external personnel should complete the following steps:

  1. Enroll in the course using “Non-UIC Registration” and following the steps as prompted.
  2. Once logged in, click on “Course Catalog” at the top of the screen.
  3. Click “Learn More” under “CIRTification: Community Involvement in Research Training."
  4. Click “Enroll” and complete the enrollment questions.
  5. Once enrolled, click “My Courses” at the top of the page. Then click “Launch” in the applicable language.
  6. Complete each module. Once all modules have been completed, you will receive a date-stamped certificate of completion. Provide this certificate to the UW-Madison study team to document training completion.

For more information on CIRTification training, see https://ccts.uic.edu/tools/cirtification/online/.

Good Clinical Practice Training

Good Clinical Practice (GCP) training is required for external personnel listed on a research study that meets the NIH definition of a clinical trial if they are involved in identifying/recruiting subjects, obtaining informed consent, or interacting with subjects. See the below for which training(s) are acceptable.

  • “Good Clinical Practice for Drug/Device Researchers” via CITI by registering and affiliating with University of Wisconsin- Madison as described above in the “Human Subjects Protections Training” section. However, you will use question 3 under “Select Curriculum” to select “Good Clinical Practice for Drug/Device Researchers.”
  • National Institutes of Health (NIH) offers Good Clinical Practice training for Drug/Device researchers via the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
    • External personnel should create their own account and provide certificate to the UW study team.
    • Users can redo the training every three years to maintain training.
  • “GCP – Social and Behavioral Research Best Practices for Clinical Research” via CITI by registering and affiliating with University of Wisconsin- Madison as described above in the “Human Subjects Protections Training” section. However, you will use question 3 under “Select Curriculum” to select “GCP – Social and Behavioral Research Best Practices for Clinical Research.
  • NIH GCP training for Social/Behavioral researchers via the Society of Behavioral Medicine.
    • External personnel should create their own account and provide the completion certificate to the UW study team.
    • Users can redo the training every three years to maintain training.