Despite the scientific community's dedication and stringent expectations for conducting and reporting ethical research, research misconduct is on the rise. In an effort to combat misinformation and promote responsible research, the Graduate School implemented a university-wide training program in 2016 in accordance with the Higher Learning Commission's integrity training requirements, titled Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR).

On Saturday, September 7, hundreds of graduate students and postdocs attended the 2019, day-long RCR course, GS 0900, where they learned about general RCR concepts, conflicts of interest, data management, sharing and ownership, Institutional Review Board processes and paperwork. Morning sessions consisted of faculty-led presentations and question-and-answer portions that applied to all disciplines. In the afternoon, attendees broke up into discipline-specific groups.

This course is only one aspect of comprehensive and robust RCR training at Wayne State. Additional training takes place both prior and post-workshop, including Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative modules on authorship and plagiarism, and discipline-specific training provided by research advisors and the departments.

Every workshop attendee is sent a survey, the completion of which leads to a passing grade.

The course is required for all PhD students and all postdocs funded by OVPR or federal funds (e.g. NIH and NSF), is zero credits, pass or fail, and is valid for four years. All trainees will be required to take a refresher course online after a four-year period.