Federal requirements for receiving payment on federal grant awards require each institution to establish a Federal Wide Assurance and that each institution is in compliance with the practical and ethical issues surrounding Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR). This involves registering the Institutional Review Board and setting up a policy on Responsible Conduct in Research. Research is defined as "systematic investigation, including research development, testing and evaluation, designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge." [45CFR 46.102(d)] .

In order to comply with these federal requirements, Connecticut College requires that all federally funded research involving human subjects must be approved by the Connecticut College Institutional Review Board (IRB). Proposals reviewed by the IRB must be accompanied by certification that the Project Investigator has completed training on Human Subjects Research.

To meet this requirement, the College subscribes to Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI), an online suite of training programs.

To access the CITI training modules, go to https://about.citiprogram.org/en/homepage/, press the “Register” button, and create a new account, affiliating yourself with Connecticut College. Users who already have a CITI account should select the “Log in” button and affiliate the existing account with Connecticut College. Students should consult with their course professor or research advisor to determine which CITI module(s) is appropriate for their project.

All research on animal subjects must be approved by the Connecticut College Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) and all Project Investigators should also comply with the requirements of the Connecticut College Biosafety Committee.

The College will not endorse or approve any grant proposal for federally funded research involving human subjects unless the appropriate certificate of completion is on file in the Corporate, Foundation and Government Relations Office. Faculty with questions concerning interpretation of this policy should address them to Ann Devlin or Jason Nier, co-chairs of the College's Institutional Review Board.