Required Training

Corbett at night with luminarias

Part 1: IACUC Certification – Animal Welfare and Ethics

Individuals who are involved in the care and use of animals at NMSU must be adequately trained in all necessary measures to prevent, minimize, and alleviate pain and distress
to the species.

All university employees involved in animal use for teaching or research purposes must be certified by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee in animal welfare and research ethics.
The IACUC Certification training is online. Follow the instructions below to create an account and access the training at www.citiprogram.org

The IACUC Certification is valid for two years.

Part 2:  Animal Worker Safety

As an important part of the Occupational Health and Safety Program (OHSP), the Animal Worker Safety training is required for all personnel who have contact

  • Option 1: Attend the class in-person at Environmental Health, Safety and Risk Management (EHS&RM). View available classes and registration here: Animal Worker Safety Training
  • Option 2: Complete the activity-specific online training modules through www.citiprogram.org. Two courses are required: “Animal Biosafety” and another species-specific module such as “Cattle” or “Wildlife”.
    After completion of option 2, send the certificates by email to biosafe@nmsu.edu so that the training can be recorded as part of your records in Training Central.

After completing the Animal Worker Safety training, you will be eligible to participate in the health and safety services related to the animal program.

Occupational Health and Safety Program (OHSP)

All personnel listed on a protocol for research or teaching must enroll in the Occupational Health and Safety Program (OHSP) for Animal Workers.

The purpose of the OHSP is to minimize potential health risks to personnel who have significant contact with animals by evaluating the hazards, offering appropriate vaccines and health services, and addressing safety concerns.

IACUC protocols will not be approved until personnel have enrolled to participate in the training and health/safety services appropriate to the animal activities.
Participation forms are distributed in the Animal Worker Safety training class at EHS&RM. The assessment form is also available on the Forms page to allow updating your records whenever changes occur in the type of animal activities or health needs. Please notify our office by email to biosafe@nmsu.edu when updating this form in order to authorize the health services for this program at no charge to the individual.

Instructions for CITI Program – Required Training

Instructions: (download Instructions in pdf)

I. Go to www.citiprogram.org.  Click on the “Register” button, under “Create an Account”

II. Complete the 7 sections:

  1. Select Your Organization Affiliation:
    Search for New Mexico State University by entering the full or partial name in the search box, then pick from the list of choices provided. If the selection is correct, click the “Continue to Step 2” button immediately below.
  2. Personal Information:
    Please enter your name here as you would like it to appear on your completion report received at the end of the course. Ensure you use an email address that you can access so you can complete the registration process by verifying the email.
  3. Create Your username and Password:
    You will chose a username and password for your account. Please follow the on screen instructions for the expected parameters of each field. Passwords are case sensitive.  During this step you will also select and answer a security question. This question will be used to assist in the recovery of your account if you have forgotten your username or password. Please select a question that is applicable to you and you can comfortably answer for the tech support team.
  4. Gender, Ethnicity and Race:
    Collects demographic information. All information provided is voluntary. Use the blue information question marks for more information on specific categories.
  5. Continuing Education Unit (CEU) Credit options:
    Professionals seeking credit for CITI Program courses can make their selection for Continuing Education credits during Step 5. For most NMSU personnel check “No”. However, those NMSU personnel with joint appointments with government agencies may be interested in the “Yes” option. The costs incurred will be your responsibility if the “Yes” option is chosen.
  6. Each institution determines the fields listed on this page and what information is required or optional. Some institutions request very specific information such as an employee ID number or campus name.
  7. Course Selection:
    The questions in Step 7 enroll you in CITI Program courses. These questions are set up based on the institutional specific courses. Please read each question carefully to ensure you are enrolled in the correct course. For IACUC training select “Working with the IACUC Course”. You are welcome to select other course too however completion of the Working with the IACUC Course is required for IACUC protocol approval.

III. After selecting your courses you are given the opportunity to enroll with another institution if needed. If your registration is complete, click on Finalize Registration.

  • Your learner account registration is complete. You will now be able to access the Main Menu of your account.
  • Click on the course name to begin the course. If you need to change your course registration, click on Add a Course or Update Learner Group.

IV. You will then be prompted to choose a course.

Choose – Lab Animal Research

V. Click on “Investigator, Staff and Students”

This Basic Course includes 14 required modules and 12 optional modules.  At least 1 of the optional modules must be completed.  Principal investigators may prefer to require their laboratory personnel to complete other optional modules of particular importance to their program.

VI. When a module is completed (test submitted), users can view the Grade Book before moving to the next module.

VII. When all modules are completed, users can print a “completion report” and attach a copy to IACUC protocols as documentation.

REPORTING CONCERNS

For Animal Welfare concerns, please contact Dr. Shanna Ivey at 575-646-5279 or the Office of the Vice President for Research at 575-646-2481 or ovpr@nmsu.edu.

Confidential reports can be made through the NMSU Ethicspoint portal.

NMSU Researchers are committed to the highest standards of ethics in animal care and use. Animal health and humane treatment are vital to responsible research. An appropriate executive team will investigate all reports. Employees, students, and IACUC members shall be free from retaliation for voicing concerns and cooperating in investigations, per NMSU’s Administrative Rules and Procedures (ARP) Chapter 3.