Scholarship and Research Integrity (SARI)

The Scholarship and Research Integrity at Penn State (SARI@PSU) program is a responsible conduct of research (RCR) education program for students, postdocs, and faculty at Penn State. SARI@PSU is designed to create an awareness of ethical principles and established professional norms in the performance of all activities related to scholarship and research. Ultimately, the goal of the program is to further foster trust among scientists and to increase the public’s support for research.

The Office for Research Protections (ORP) put together the following information specifically for graduate program faculty and staff. This information is available in various forms on the ORP website; however, this section puts it all in one place. It is an excellent resource for new faculty and staff and those who would benefit from a refresher.

SARI Contacts

For technical issues with a LionPATH Milestones page, contact the Graduate Enterprise Resource Solutions team at GBAC-SNow@psu.edu.
For questions about SARI requirements and milestones, contact SARI@psu.edu

About SARI@PSU

: You will need the same level of security in LionPATH as you would need for other graduate milestone tracking. Visit the milestones page for more information.
: There are two parts to SARI@PSU graduate students: an online course offered through the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI Program) and a minimum of five hours of discussion-based activities. Each graduate department or program has a specific SARI@PSU plan. Student completion of SARI@PSU is tracked in LionPATH by a graduate program administrator.

Part 1: Online

The CITI course a student should take is specified by their program in their SARI@PSU plan. Most students should take the responsible conduct of research (RCR) course. For some SARI programs, the CITI course in human subjects research (the “IRB” course) has been designated. Students should check with their graduate program director for information on which CITI Program course to take.

Part 2: In-person

Graduate students must also complete at least five hours of discussion-based activities that can be offered by their department and/or by the Office for Research Protections. Each graduate department or program establishes what can count toward this SARI requirement; for example, some departments may offer their own workshops or incorporate SARI into a required course. Graduate Program Administrators are responsible for tracking in-person information and reporting in LionPATH.

The Office for Research Protections also offers workshops that can count toward SARI credit; please note that only two hours of the required SARI discussion-based activities can come from ORP workshops. See the SARI Workshop Schedule for upcoming events. Attendance at an ORP-sponsored SARI event is automatically recorded as a “Comment” in the In-Person level in LionPATH. The ORP will not mark a level complete; this is the responsibility of the graduate program.
: SARI@PSU is tracked as a Milestone in LionPATH. Graduate program administrators are responsible for keeping track of students’ progress for fulfilling their SARI @ PSU requirements in LionPATH. Program administrators also receive updates about  SARI @ PSU, as well as information about upcoming educational events via email. Call the ORP Education Office if you need assistance.
: If needed, students can follow instructions to download their completion certificates to send to their program administrator.

Graduate students attending ORP workshops are required to swipe their Penn State ID card to verify attendance. Certificates are no longer given out to attendees. The ORP will add the SARI events sponsored by the ORP to the comment section of the SARI in-person milestone in LionPATH.

Frequently Asked Questions

: All scholars confront ethical issues in their professions. Training is critical to prepare students and researchers to address ethical challenges that may arise when conducting research. The NIH, NSF, and NIFA all have requirements for responsible conduct of research (RCR) training for students, postdoctoral researchers, and other trainees working on research supported by either agency. Following the precedent of the NIH and NSF, Penn State requires RCR training for all graduate students, post-docs, and new faculty to ensure the ethical conduct of research at the University.
: ORP workshops are one hour in length, open to the Penn State community and designed to be broad-based topics to attract a wide variety of participants. Some graduate programs have elected to incorporate up to two hours of ORP workshops in their discipline-specific SARI@PSU plans. View listing of ORP workshops.
: Fill out a new SARI Program plan by accessing the template on the ORP website. Submit the changes to the ORP. If a new course requirement is offered, submit the syllabus to the ORP along with the new program plan.
: This is up to the individual programs within each college. Many programs offer a mandatory course that covers the recommended topics for responsible conduct for research. Some programs offer in-house workshops and / or seminars that count for SARI credit.
: Only the IRB online course through CITI expires after three years and must be renewed if program is not completed.
: Some professional plans may obtain a waiver for the CITI online requirement. A waiver can only be granted by the ORP and programs that do not require a research component to the degree may request this.
: Fulfilling the SARI requirements at Penn State is serious and the responsibility of each graduate student and new faculty hire. Please contact the ORP if presented with this situation.
: Students should sign in to CITI courses. Choose the appropriate link for your campus affiliation and select the course that best fits the type of research you are conducting. The CITI course is specified in your SARI@PSU Program plan. Most students should take the responsible conduct of research (RCR) course. The IRB course may be designated for those who are conducting human subject research. Note that any CITI course can fulfill the SARI requirement, but any CITI course cannot replace the IRB course.
: All new faculty have 12 months from date of hire to complete the SARI@PSU requirement, which consists of 2 hours of RCR educational activities. This requirement may be met by taking any CITI online course or two hours of discussion-based activity or a combination of both.

Scholarship and Research Integrity (SARI)

SARI Contacts

About SARI@PSU

Part 1: Online

Part 2: In-person

Frequently Asked Questions

Legal Statements