NSF Training
Research Security Training
On July 10, 2025, the National Science Foundation issued . In alignment with the and , NSF has established a series of requirements to strengthen transparency and accountability across NSF-funded projects, and to ensure NSF-funded projects are free of malign foreign interference and misappropriation.
One of the new requirements is research security training. Effective October 10, 2025, "NSF requires research security training certifications from proposers and individuals identified as senior/key personnel by the proposer. Proposers may utilize any training that addresses cybersecurity, international collaboration, foreign interference, and rules for proper use of funds, disclosure, conflict of commitment, and conflict of interest." In accordance with Section 10634 of the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 (42 U.S.C. § 19234), each individual identified as a senior/key person must certify that they have completed the requisite research security training that meets the requirements specified in Item 2 of Important Notice No. 149 within 12 months prior to proposal submission.
CITI Research Security Training Module
Kent State University employees who participate in an NSF proposal as senior or key personnel can complete the Research Security Training (Combined) - Basic Course in CITI to meet the new training requirement. To access the training:
- Go to .
- If you have a CITI account, enter "Kent State University" in the search box, pick Kent State from the list of choices provided, then click "Continue to SSO Login/Instructions.
- If you do not have a CITI account, click on the "Registration" link, then click "Select Your Organization Affiliation". Enter "Kent State University" in the search box and select "Kent State University (SSO). Follow the instructions to register using your FlashLine credentials.
- Sign in with your FlashLine credentials. You will then see a page with "Welcome, <your name>" at the top, followed by a list of your courses.
- Scroll down to the bottom of the page to "Learner Tools for Kent State University". Click "Add a Course".
- On the Select Curriculum page, select "Research Security" (last entry on the list), then click "Next".
- In the list of courses that appears, select the first option, "Research Security Training (Combined Course)". This condensed and combined single-module course is based on the four-module NSF Research Security Training. It takes approximately one hour to complete and has been designed to meet the NSF research security training requirement. Click "Next" to return to the My Courses screen.**
- Find the Research Security Training module in the list of courses and click "Start Now" to begin the course. Note: there will be an update to the Combined Course on October 10, 2025. If you start this module before October 10, 2025, be sure to complete the module and associated quiz no later than October 9, 2025. If you don't, you must start the module again once the update goes live.
- Once training has been successfully completed in CITI, Sponsored Programs staff will certify on the cover page of your NSF proposal that the research security training requirement has been met. The training is valid for one year.
**In addition to the combined course, you may select any of the other options on this page. The second option, Research Security Training (NSF Course), is the original four-module training, which takes approximately four hours to complete. The third option is a Research Security Advanced Refresher of eight 20-30-minute modules offering more information on specific topics.