UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Scholarship and Research Integrity (SARI) Program at Penn State has been rebranded as Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research (RECR) Program, to better align the name with the intent of the curriculum and national standards. Established to promote ethical and responsible research, federal funding agencies such as the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. National Science Foundation require RECR training, which includes topics such as mentorship, data management, authorship and other best practices in research. These updates reflect Penn State’s continued commitment to fostering a culture of integrity in research while supporting the efficiency and effectiveness of graduate education.
Supported by the RECR faculty advisory committee, the rebranding of SARI to the RECR program includes additional resources and workshops offered by the Office for Research Protections (ORP). The goal of the expanded offering is to reduce burden on academic programs in the development, management and tracking of RECR training requirements.
The updates are designed to better meet the needs of graduate programs while reducing administrative complexity. Graduate programs will have greater flexibility in how they meet RECR requirements, with options to use centrally supported resources, continue existing approaches or combine both.
For graduate students, the changes are intended to make RECR training more accessible and consistent, ensuring all students receive foundational knowledge in research ethics while minimizing barriers to completion.
RECR orientation and introduction to Institutional Review Board (IRB) workshops
Two new initiatives of the RECR program are RECR orientations and introduction to IRB workshops.
RECR orientation sessions will be offered twice daily during the first two weeks of the semester, followed by the introduction to IRB workshops during weeks three to five. To broaden participation, faculty and programs are encouraged to have students attend and can opt to use these sessions in lieu of having an ORP educator attend an individual class session.
Additional offerings include ready-to-use RECR modules in Canvas, designed to minimize prep time, and flexible one-hour RECR workshops offered each fall and spring with no limits on hours earned through ORP workshops. Faculty can seamlessly incorporate the expanded RECR offerings into their syllabi, including regularly scheduled RECR orientation sessions and introduction to IRB workshops that equip students with essential compliance knowledge.
Updating RECR plans
As part of the transition, all graduate programs will be asked to submit an updated Graduate Program RECR Plan during spring and summer 2026, even if no changes are anticipated. The revised plan is designed to be more flexible, allowing programs to adjust their approach as needs evolve. Programs can refer to the rollout schedule to identify when their submission will be due. In addition, graduate programs are encouraged to attend one of the weekly information sessions to learn more about the rebranding, expanded opportunities, and to ask questions.
Questions about the rebranding can be directed to ORP at orp@psu.edu.