The federal government has mandated Research Security Training (RST) for 鈥渃overed individuals鈥 on proposal applications to several federal agencies as part of the government鈥檚 broader effort to promote research integrity and security across federally funded projects in accordance with the . Covered individuals on these applications are defined as PIs, co-PIs, and key/senior personnel, who must document that they have completed research security training within the previous 12 months. Additionally, certain technical personnel, such as postdoctoral researchers or graduate students, could fall under this category if their contributions to the research are substantial.
This requirement takes effect as follows:
- All National Science Foundation (NSF) proposal applications on, or after October 10, 2025
- All National Institutes of Health (NIH) proposals on, or after May 25, 2026
- All U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) proposal applications on or after May 1, 2025
- All United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) proposal submissions related to research and development (R&D) or Science and Technology (S&T) on or after July 8, 2025.
We anticipate that other federal agencies will enact similar requirements in the very near future, and will provide updates as these details become available.
Prior to proposal submission the Office of Sponsored Programs will be required to certify that all covered personnel have completed research security training.
All covered individuals must upload completion certificates to the Institutional Processing Form/Proposal Attachments Section in CAYUSE SP prior to routing and their proposal for review and approval.
To maintain compliance with this federal mandate, proposals without completed certifications or with expired certifications, will not be submitted until these requirements are fulfilled.
Training Details:
When to complete this training
We encourage anyone who is contemplating or actively planning a future submission to the NSF, NIH, Department of Energy, or USDA, to complete this training as soon as possible. All covered persons must complete the training BEFORE a proposal can be submitted.
- Deadline: Must be completed within the 12 months preceding the date of proposal submission.
- Annual Recertification Required: Please note that this training must be be completed annually to be eligible for proposal submission.
How to complete this training
Montclair has subscribed to the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) Program鈥檚 鈥Research Security Training Combined鈥 online module, which is compliant with the RST mandate. Steps to register, subscribe to the course, and document your compliance are provided below.
The program will take approximately one hour to complete. The material is presented in an audio-visual format, with questions. Please save your completion certificate as a PDF file, which is necessary for documenting your compliance with the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP).
Topics Covered:
- Introduction to Research Security
- Importance of Disclosure
- Risk Mitigation and Management
- International Collaboration
- Additional Resources
Steps to Register with CITI, Log-In, and access the Research Security Course Program:
- STEP 1: with CITI using your 精品成人福利在线 University affiliation
To begin, select the 鈥淥rganizational Affiliation Button鈥 and type in 精品成人福利在线 University in the provided search field. Follow the remaining prompts/instructions.
- STEP 2:
- STEP 3: Select Course:
- Once logged in, under your institutional affiliation for 精品成人福利在线 University, click on 鈥渧iew courses.鈥
- On the next page, scroll down to 鈥渁dd a course.鈥
- Scroll down the list of and choose 鈥淩esearch Security Training Combined鈥 to add the course.
- STEP 4: Document your compliance with RST
- The RST mandate requires the Office of Sponsored Programs to certify that all covered personnel have completed research security training. Therefore, all covered individuals must upload their CITI RST completion certificates to the Proposal Attachments Section in prior to routing the proposal for institutional review and approval.
- STEP 5 (NIH SPECIFIC REQUIREMENT): The NIH will collect the individual certification at the time of the application submission, through the Biographical Sketch in SciENcv.
More detailed instructions can be found using the .
If you have any questions or need assistance accessing the CITI training, please contact the Research Compliance and Regulatory Programs office at ext. 7583 or irbassistant@montclair.edu.
CITI Resources:
Short tutorials on getting acquainted with the CITI training system and geared toward new users. Includes short videos on registration with CITI, logging in, and using your institutional affiliation to view CITI courses/content.
Also available in format.
For further information or assistance with CITI, please contact the Helpline at 973-655-7583.
References
(issued July 10, 2025)
NIH Notice (issued December 2, 2025)
Department of Energy: (Issued October 7, 2024)
United States Department of Agriculture: (Issued July 8, 2025)