Frequently Asked Questions Regarding the
Responsible Conduct of Research and
Scholarship Requirement
What is the new requirement?
Toni Antonucci and Dave Engleke, co-chairs of the RCRS Task Force, outlined the mandate as follows:
“[1] substantive faculty involvement, preferably in group discussions, [2] least 8 hours of in-person
interaction [3]inclusion of certain topics depending on the nature of the research [4] NSF requires
documented training of all students and postdocs paid from either research grants or training
fellowships/grants. Requirements are less for summer-only programs [5] NIH requires training of all
students and postdocs supported by NIH fellowships, K awards, or training grants.”
Topics to be covered include:
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appropriate citation of sources and avoiding plagiarism
authorship and publication practices and responsibilities
acquisition, management, ownership and sharing of data
research misconduct, including data fabrication and falsification
personal, professional and financial conflicts of interest
supervisory and mentoring relationships and responsibilities
responsibilities of collaborative research
protection of human beings and welfare of laboratory animals when research involves human
participants and animal subjects
Where can I get more information on this?
We created a CTools site dedicated to the Responsible Conduct of Research called “Scholarly Integrity”.
It is an open, or joinable site and this is where we have listed Frequently Asked Questions, as well as
many recommended resources for courses on RCRS including links to texts and a video. To navigate to
the joinable CTools site follow the instructions below. If you have other questions about the RCRS
courses or requirements, please let me know.
How to join an open site on CTools:
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In CTools, click on “My Workspace” in the upper left corner.
Click on “Membership” and in small print in the upper left, click on “Joinable Sites”
In the search box to the right, type “Scholarly Integrity”
Click on the option to join the site.
Can students begin working for pay on funded projects prior to taking the planned course? Some may
begin in summer, or join a lab after the course has already started in the fall. Is there a requirement
for completion of the course within some time frame beginning with employment? Is it expected to be
continuous with employment?
Yes, students can work on grants prior to having the training, and the federal regulations are silent on
how soon after they start working that they need the training. Our intent is to make our best
reasonable effort.
Will the courses be offered each term, including Spring/Summer?
We are not expecting to require the courses be offered in Spring or Summer half term, although we
would not preclude you wanting to do that. We do think they will be needed both Fall and Winter term.
How shall we handle employees, such as high school students, or undergraduates from other
institutions, who work for a summer or part-time for pay, but are not enrolled at UM?
This training is not required of employees or students from other institutions. We are focusing on our
undergraduates who are working in the lab, graduate students, and post-docs.
How shall we handle "other" research staff besides students, such as lab managers or hourly workers?
Other research staff do not have the training requirement.
Are UROP students handled separately by that program?
UROP students are handled separately, however if a UROP student continues in a lab supported on a
grant then he or she should sign up for the course.
Are student employees to be paid for their time during this mandatory training?
This is a course they must register for – we don’t pay students to take courses.
Is it possible to consider alternatives, such as one-day workshops?
No.
These could be offered on a regular basis to catch new employees as the join labs.
These courses will have to be offered on a continuing basis for new students.
Are there any funding sources for instructors for this approach?
No, this is an unfunded mandate.
We would record attendees and submit verification to the college.
We are working with central administration to track this through course registration and completion.
Is there a limit as to how many faculty can teach it?
It’s up to the department to determine this.
Who can teach the course? Tenure track only? Can post-docs teach it?
Anyone with a professor title can teach it. No post-docs may teach this.
Who will assign section numbers?
Lori Gould in our Undergrad Ed office assigns section numbers.
For students and postdocs who’ve already completed PEERRS, will they have to take the course if
they’re around next year and beyond?
The completion of PEERRS has no bearing on this training. This is a separate requirement.
How will we know who needs the training and who has taken the training?
We will use the report that ITS is developing to identify which undergraduate and graduate students,
and post-docs will require training based on their appointment in Wolverine Access/M-Pathways.
Reports will be used by department administrators to inform the attendees of the requirement.
Tracking of students will be done through Wolverine Access/M-Pathways via the course registration
system. Post-docs will be tracked through instructors taking attendance and reporting to the Dean’s
Office by spreadsheet, to be uploaded into Wolverine Access/Pathways. ITS is developing a means to
reflect participation by post-docs in Wolverine Access/Pathways after the spreadsheet upload.
Updated 8/30/11