Job Aid: RECR Instructions for Students

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Job Aid: RECR Instructions for Students

Beyond being a university requirement, RECR training is a federal requirement. All graduate students must complete RECR requirements.

Negative service indicators (holds) will be applied to students' records if they fail to complete their yearly RECR requirements. Units should monitor their students' training closely to ensure that annual training is being completed. 

Master's Plan A, Plan B, and Graduate Professional students must complete all their RECR requirements prior to graduation.

Doctoral students must complete year 1, year 2, and the 6 hours of discussion-based (instructor led) RECR training before they pass their comprehensive examinations.

Doctoral students must also complete 3 hours of refresher training each year until graduation starting in academic year 3.

  • The Graduate School’s Basic RCR requirements may be found here.
  • All Master’s, Doctoral and Professional Graduate Students must complete at least the basic RECR requirements. Units/Colleges may require more than the basic requirements. Students should check with their unit/college to determine if requirements beyond the Graduate School’s Basic RECR training must be completed.
    • Master’s Plan B and Graduate Professional Students must complete the following:
      • Year 1 CITI modules (4 specific modules)
      • 6 hours of Discussion-Based (Instructor Led) Training
    • Master’s Plan A Graduate Students must complete the following:
      • Year 1 CITI modules (4 specific modules)
      • Year 2 CITI modules (choose 3 of 6 specific modules)
      • 6 hours of Discussion-Based (Instructor Led) Training
    • Doctoral Graduate Students must complete the following:
      • Year 1 CITI modules (4 specific modules)
      • Year 2 CITI modules (choose 3 of 6 specific modules)
      • 6 hours of Discussion-Based (Instructor Led) Training
      • 3 hours of Refresher Training in every year beginning at Year 3 until the student graduates
  • In the first academic year of enrollment in a graduate degree program, all students should complete 
    the Year 1 CITI modules. 
    • Information about creating a CITI account and completing training may be found here.
    • Students are to use their MSU email when creating their CITI account. Training will not connect to the University’s Ability Learning Management System, and it will not show on the student’s RCR page if a non-MSU email is used.
    • Students are to complete the MSU Graduate School RECR Program modules.
      • A screenshot of the beginning screen of the RECR module.
    • Courses taken prior to the student’s first academic year in their graduate program will not count.
    • Students can take the courses late (after the first year), but it is highly recommended that the modules are completed in Academic Year 1.
    • Once CITI modules are complete, they will transfer to the student’s RECR page in SIS. It may take up to two weeks to for completed courses to show on the RECR page in SIS.
  • In the second academic year of enrollment in their graduate degree program, Master’s Plan A and 
    Doctoral students should complete the Year 2 CITI modules.
    • The Year 2 CITI modules are not an option for students to choose from until the Year 1 CITI 
      modules have been completed.
    • The Year 2 CITI modules are denoted as being “Supplemental” or “Optional” in the CITI system.
      • Where do I find my follow-up (year 2) modules?
        • In your courses list, click the "Review Course" button for the appropriate group (i.e., MSU Grad Students RECR Program). Then, scroll down past the Year 1 modules.
          • Look under Supplemental (or Optional). If the initial requirements were completed, the follow-up modules will be accessible.
    • The Year 2 CITI modules can be taken late (after the second year), but students are highly encouraged to complete them in Year 2.
    • There is a choice of 6 CITI modules for Year 2. Students only need to complete 3 of them to fulfill the requirement. Doctoral students may take the remaining 3 Year 2 CITI modules in a refresher year and apply these toward this requirement. 
    • Each CITI module taken for a refresher year credit counts for ¾ of an hour of training.
  • Discussion-Based (Instructor Led) RECR training may be fulfilled by participating in and completing any 
    of the following:
    • Department/College Workshops, brown-bag luncheons, group discussions covering RECR 
      related topics.
    • Graduate School RECR Workshop Series
    • Academic courses that cover RECR related topics (A student’s academic unit completes and submits a spreadsheet to record this information. This process may take up to two weeks to complete once the spreadsheet has been submitted. If your unit has questions about this process, they should reach out to gradsis@grd.msu.edu for assistance.)
    • Other similar types of courses that cover RECR topics. Please contact gradsis@grd.msu.edu if you have questions about whether a certain course may count for RECR Discussion-Based Training.
  • NOTE: Students may begin fulfilling the 6 hours of Discussion-Based (Instructor Led) Training in 
    Academic Year 1.
  • Doctoral Student Refresher Year Training (3 hours each year) beginning in Year 3 and continuing until 
    graduation may be fulfilled by completing any of the following:
    • CITI modules not previously taken to fulfill Year 1 or Year 2 requirements or another refresher 
      year’s requirements.
    • Department/College Workshops, brown-bag luncheons, group discussions covering RECR 
      related topics.
    • Graduate School RECR workshops not previously taken.
    • One-on-One discussions between the student and their advisor
    • Other RECR related courses (non-CITI modules, Academic courses, etc.)
  • NOTE: Refresher Courses taken late will back-fill to complete an open Refresher Year, but courses 
    may not be taken early to fill future Refresher Years. 
    • For example, don’t take 6 hours of refresher training in Year 3 expecting them to fulfill Year 3 and Year 4. Three of the hours will fulfill Year 3 and the rest will move to the Additional Training section of the RECR page. Courses may be taken late to backfill an open refresher year, but courses may not be taken early to fulfill a future refresher year.
  • One-on-One Advisor RECR training is only for Doctoral Students and is only for fulfillment of refresher years’ training requirements (Academic Year 3 and beyond). This type of training may not be used to fulfill the 6 hours of Discussion-Based (Instructor Led) Training.
  • Log-in to https://student.msu.edu
  • Click on the Academic Progress Tile
    • A screenshot of the Academic Progress screen.
  • Click on RECR Discussion Form
    • A screenshot showing the location of the RECR Discussion Form.
  • Fill out the New Discussion Form (Choose the topic of training from the drop-down menu, choose the 
    duration from the Hours drop-down menu, enter the date the training was completed, and choose your 
    advisor from the drop-down menu). Then click Save.
    • The New Discussion Form, showing the save button at the bottom.
  • The advisor will receive an email from gradsis@grd.msu.edu informing them they need to verify/deny 
    the training. The advisor may verify/deny the training themselves or department staff may verify/deny 
    on the advisor’s behalf.
  • If training is verified, it will move into the appropriate refresher year (based on the date the training was completed.) If the training was completed before a refresher year (before Year 3), it will fall into the Additional Training section at the bottom of the RECR page. If a training applies to a refresher year that is already fulfilled, it will move to the Additional Training section.
  • Log-in to https://student.msu.edu
  • Click on the Academic Progress Tile
    • Another screenshot of the Academic Progress chart.
  • Click on RECR
  • See the screenshot below for an example of completed training.
    • A screenshot of completed trainings, showing completed modules listed in different rows.
  • For PhD students: All One-on-One discussions with an advisor are listed as RECR-1000-ART on the RECR page once verified. If the training applies to a refresher year it will be listed in the appropriate year. If the training is too early to count for refresher training, or the training applied to a refresher year that was already fulfilled, it will fall into the Additional Training Section at the bottom of the page.
    • A screenshot of how an advisor discussion will appear.
  • All RECR records must be captured on the RECR page in SIS. If training is not recorded in SIS, it
    cannot be used to fulfill RCR requirements. 
  • The training year is August 16th in one calendar year to August 15th in the next calendar year.
  • If you wish to complete more RECR training than is necessary for your own personal enrichment, you may certainly do so, but you only need to complete the Graduate School’s basic requirements and any other specific requirements your unit or college may require.
  • If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to gradsis@grd.msu.edu.