Program Plan Template
The SARI@PSU program provides an opportunity to engage graduate students broadly in a
dialog surrounding issues pertinent to research ethics. The SARI@PSU program for graduate
students has two parts:
1) During the first year of enrollment, graduate students will be required to complete an
online RCR course provided by the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative at the
University of Miami (CITI). The Office for Research Protections (ORP) provides a link
to this training via the SARI@PSU Resource Portal on the ORP website
(www.research.psu.edu/orp).
2) Graduate students will also be required to engage in 5 hours of discussion-based RCR
education prior to degree completion. These discussions should encompass both universal
and discipline-specific material.
Please consider the following information when planning your college’s discussion-based
training. Several topics have been identified by the Public Health Service Office of Research
Integrity as core elements of RCR (responsible conduct of research) education. RCR activities
offered within your college should focus on these topics as they relate to research conducted by
the disciplines in your college.









Conflict of interest – personal, professional, and financial
Policies regarding human subjects, live vertebrate animal subjects in research, and safe
laboratory practices
Mentor/mentee responsibilities and relationships
Collaborative research including collaborations with industry
Peer review
Data acquisition and laboratory tools; management, sharing and ownership
Research misconduct and policies for handling misconduct
Responsible authorship and publication
The scientist as a responsible member of society, contemporary ethical issues in
biomedical research, and the environmental and societal impacts of scientific research
Clearly, there are graduate programs for which some of the topics listed above may have no
relevance. Furthermore, there may be topics not listed that are essential to meaningful RCR
education in a particular field. Each college’s SARI@PSU program(s) should address this
diversity with discussion-based education that is most relevant for the participating students.
Colleges may be able to develop a single program that works for all students within the college;
alternatively, a single plan may encompass several categories of graduate program (e.g.
Biomedicine, Science and Engineering; Social Sciences; Humanities; and Professional), or it
maybe more relevant to have departmentally-anchored RCR education. Whether submitting
separate plans for each represented category or a single plan for the entire college, the plans
should clearly describe how the needs of each group will be addressed.
SARI@PSU programs may include a variety of activities determined by the college to be
effective and engaging. Custom-designed workshops, forums, and classes, or existing classes and
seminars offered by the college, and/or participation in external offerings may all be included.
SARI@PSU plans may include encouragement to attend some of the RCR programs offered
through the ORP, such as Scholarship and Research Ethics Brownbag discussions, RCR in Focus
Workshops, and IRB 101 Brownbag discussions (see the ORP website for further information
about these programs). Colleges cannot solely rely on these programs, however, as seating is
limited, and ORP programs alone are insufficient to address discipline-specific issues as
necessary for complete RCR training. Participation in a maximum of two hours of ORPsponsored events may be counted towards the five-hour requirement. For an existing course to be
suitable for fulfilling one of the training requirements, the Colleges must document that relevant
topics from the above list are covered in such a course.
In the future, colleges may want to modify the programs offered to meet changing needs. Any
substantial revisions to the programs offered should be resubmitted to the ORP for review at
least 30 days prior to the date of a new activity (using the form provided on the SARI@PSU
Resource Portal at the ORP website).
Completed SARI@PSU Program Plans should be submitted to the ORP (by campus mail
to - The 330 Building, Suite 205, or electronically to sari@psu.edu, 865-1775). Please
contact sari@psu.edu with any questions.
SARI@PSU Program Plan
College (and graduate program) submitting this SARI@PSU Program Plan:
Part 1: CITI online RCR training program:
Please describe A) how students will be made aware of the requirement; B) when students will
be expected to complete the requirement; and C) how student participation will be monitored:
____________
Part 2: Five hours of discussion-based RCR education:
Type of program(s) to be offered (e.g. workshop, seminar series, credit offering, ORP workshop,
etc.) and frequency of offering:
RCR topics to be discussed:
How will discussion be facilitated in the instruction?
Please explain how your plan will meet the needs of students in particular disciplines or
programs in your college, considering the different categories of programs (e.g. Biomedicine,
Science and Engineering; Social Sciences; Humanities; and Professional):
This form is available in electronic format at www.research.psu.edu/orp/SARI@PSU/