Human Subjects Certification Program

Beginning January 1, 2001, certification of successful completion of the Human Subjects Certification Program (HSCP) by the principal investigator and key personnel has been required for all submissions to the Rutgers University Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects in Research (IRB). The Notice of Approval, or Exemption, for a protocol will be issued after the IRB has reviewed the protocol and all IRB criteria have been satisfied, provided that the principal investigator (and faculty advisor, if the principal investigator is a student) has completed the certification program. If the principal investigator has obtained the certification and key personnel have not, a notice of approval, or exemption, will be issued with the condition that those individuals who have not received certification may not participate in the conduct of the study until certification is obtained. This policy applies to all protocols submitted to the IRB, regardless of funding source.

It is anticipated that a minimum of three hours is required to read the information contained within the program and complete the test. Participants may review the entire program in one session, or several.

HSCP contains a 40-question, multiple choice test that is taken on-line, and certification letters will be issued for individuals who attain a minimum score of 80. The test may be taken several times, with a minimum of two hours between attempts. Only the highest score will be used.

Instructions:
  The following information will allow you to access HSCP. It is recommended that you print the instructions listed below at this time for easy reference during the log-in process.

1. Point your browser to https://sakai.rutgers.edu/sitelogin.jsp?site=600c1140-3890-4274-00ca-dd17d37107ba

2. You will be at the "Login to Human Subjects Certification Program" page.

• Rutgers faculty, staff, students: You will need to have the username and password that is affiliated with your RUCS email account (rci, crab, andromeda, eden, clam, Pegasus) to complete the log-in process. If you do not have a RUCS account, instructions for establishing one may be found at: http://rucs.rutgers.edu/services/account/index-body.html. To resolve problems with an existing RUCS account, go to: http://rucs.rutgers.edu/services/assistance/helpdesk.html.
• Individuals who are not affiliated with Rutgers University can register with a guest account using their email address. For more instructions click here.

3. Enter your Sakai ID (RUCS NetID, or Sakai Guest Account) and password. Click on "Log on".

4. Once in the program, please study the Modules section. It will provide information about the program as well as operating instructions.

5. When you are ready you can take the test under "Tests & Quizzes". The test may be started and stopped repeatedly. As long as the participant saves each individual response, the selections will be retained until the next attempt. Tests will not be scored until the participant indicates that the test should be submitted for grading.

6. To access HSCP on future occasions:

• Point your browser to: here
• Log-in using your RUCS NetID, or Sakai Guest Account and password.
• Click on Human Subjects Certification Program.

*When you have successfully completed the program, including the online test, you may then print a letter of certification for your files. Just click on the "Print Human Subjects Certificate" button on the left. If the certificate does not print properly on your printer you can use the printer friendly version.

If you have any questions about HSCP or these instructions, please send your comments by email to: hscp@orsp.rutgers.edu.

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