IACUC Policy 011: Training and Continuing Education Requirements

1. Purpose:
The purpose of this policy is to define the training expectations for all personnel involved in animal research activities. Proper training ensures that individuals are qualified to perform procedures and responsibilities in a manner that promotes animal welfare, complies with federal regulations, and maintains scientific integrity.

2. Scope:
This policy applies to all personnel listed on an IACUC protocol, including investigators, staff, students, IACUC members, and Laboratory Animal Resources (LAR) staff. It outlines mandatory training requirements through the CITI Program, refresher intervals, protocol-specific training, training documentation expectations, and additional guidance for classroom use and non-animal-handling personnel.

3. Policy:

3.1 Animal Users:

A. Mandatory Training Before Animal Work:

• In accordance with Ohio University’s PHS Assurance, all persons handling live vertebrate animals and/or listed on an IACUC protocol are required to complete the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) online animal user courses:

  1) “Investigators, Staff and Students” in the Working with the IACUC curriculum, prior to protocol approval and animal use.  Once the initial course is completed and passed, each person handling live vertebrate animals is required to complete the refresher course, which is located on the CITI site, once every three years.

  2) In addition, all study team members must complete the appropriate “Working with [species]” animal-specific course for their research animal type through the CITI Program. For example, if a protocol involves mice, all study personnel must complete the Working with Mice in a Research Setting course. CITI offers a variety of species-specific courses, including but not limited to Working with Wildlife, Working with Fish, and Working with Swine.  

  NOTE: If a relevant course is not available for a particular species, study teams will receive consultation on zoonotic disease risks and safety considerations as part of the Occupational Health Enrollment process. 

  3) All study team personnel are required to self-enroll and complete the Allergy Training module titled “Allergy Risks in Animal Care Facilities” prior to participating in animal use activities. This training is delivered through Canvas and administered and tracked by Environmental Health and Safety (EHS). Completion verification occurs alongside protocol review.  

B. Protocol-Specific Competency: It is the responsibility of the Principal Investigator (PI) to ensure that each member of the study team has achieved the necessary competency before independently performing any procedures involving animals. While the PI may delegate the training of specific procedures to another qualified member of the study team, the PI retains ultimate responsibility for verifying that all personnel are properly trained and competent. This includes ensuring that training is appropriate to the procedures assigned, adequately documented, and aligned with institutional and regulatory standards. 

C. Documentation & Record Keeping: All personnel must have documented training for protocol-specific procedures, animal handling, and activities involving pain or distress. These training activities must be documented in a training log or equivariant document such a spreadsheet that includes the elements below (also see Appendix 1 for an example):

• Date
• Trainee
• Trainer
• Initials of Trainee
• Initials of Trainer

NOTE: Personnel in laboratories who do not have involvement in handling of live vertebrate animals are not required to be listed on the protocol and, if not listed, do not need to complete animal use training.  However, all personnel that are listed on the protocol must complete CITI training even if they do not handle live vertebrate animals.

3.2 Best Practices & General Recommendations:

3.3 Classroom Use:

Students who will only have transitory contact with live vertebrate animals during the completion of coursework where that contact occurs exclusively in the classroom setting and is supervised by an instructor who has completed the required CITI training are not required to complete the CITI course.  Instructors must provide a basic orientation to the animal use that will occur and have a written summary of that orientation available for review by the IACUC upon request.

3.5 IACUC Members:

Members of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) must complete the CITI course “Essentials for IACUC Members” in the Working with the IACUC curriculum.

3.6 Laboratory Animal Resources (LAR) Staff:

The staff members are required to complete the CITI course “Investigators, Staff and Students” in the Working with the IACUC curriculum, and to complete the refresher course once every three years.  The LAR animal care staff is also required to complete AALAS certification.  Continuing education of the LAR animal care staff must be documented, and these records made available to the IACUC for review upon request.