Clarification on Institutional Federal Research Security Training Requirements

Dear Drexel University Researchers,

To align with evolving federal research security requirements, Drexel University will require all Principal Investigators (PIs) and Key Personnel listed on federal funding proposals submitted on or after September 1, 2026, to complete Federal Research Security Training on an annual basis.

Collaborators identified as Key Personnel are also required to complete Research Security Training (RST). An attestation will be added shortly to the Subrecipient Commitment Form (SCF) to confirm compliance with this requirement.

Several federal agencies already require Research Security Training for senior/key personnel. The number of federal agencies requiring this training is expanding and may continually evolve. The Office of Research and Innovation (ORI) verifies compliance with sponsor-specific requirements, including research security training, during proposal review.

Because federal research security requirements are expanding, Drexel will require annual Research Security Training for all federal proposals to ensure compliance and avoid proposal submission delays.

What You Need to Do

If you have not done so already, complete Research Security Training before participating as a PI or Key Personnel on a federal proposal submitted on or after September 1, 2026.
Register in CITI using your Drexel email address to ensure your training records can be tracked through the Novelution research administration system.
Complete the CITI Research Security Training (1 hour). ORI recommends the CITI course because it will integrate with Novelution in the future for streamlined and better researcher experience as well as for compliance tracking (Directions for Accessing Research Security Training in CITI).
Upon completion of the CITI 1 hour training, email the certificate to OSP and to the Research Security inbox (who will add it to the Smartsheet form)
Renew the training annually. Training must be completed within the 12 months preceding proposal submission.
Plan ahead. Review training requirements for your sponsor.

Important Scope Clarification

This Drexel University requirement applies to federal proposals only. At this time, we are not aware of non-federal sponsors requiring the training, but this could change.
OSP will verify research security training compliance only for federal sponsors and will not review or track this training requirement for non-federal sponsors, unless it is required by a non-federal sponsor.
Researchers should continue to review and comply with any sponsor-specific training requirements that may be imposed by non-federal funders.
These research security training regulations are changing regularly therefore we will continue to engage the community with updates when needed.

If you have any questions about this requirement or the Research Security Training process, please contact researchsecurity@drexel.edu.

Sincerely,

Sarah N. Archibald, PhD, MSL, MS, MDE, MA, CCEP, CRCMP
Associate Vice Provost, Research Compliance & Regulatory Affairs
Office of Research & Innovation

Aleister Saunders, PhD
Executive Vice Provost
Office of Research & Innovation