Training program boots rate of certified staff
Training program boots rate of certified staff
'It's not just three hours of someone lecturing'
The five-year-old, comprehensive research training program at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, SC, has a six-month waiting list, despite it being voluntary.
The program has trained 162 research staff members to date and has led to 21 research employees achieving their certified research administrator (CRA) designation, says Danielle McElwain, CRA, research development manager.
"Last year, I went through the list of CRAs, and we were in the top 10 across the country as far as institutions that have CRAs," McElwain notes.
McElwain gives credit to the 14-week, 3-hour workshop program, which provides such detailed education for research associates that many are well-prepared to take the CRA exam when they're done.
"The training program provides start-to-finish training in sponsored research programs, including how to find funding, administering a grant, business practices, how to spend the money, and paperwork from closeout to audit," McElwain explains. (See table with workshop subjects.)
Research associates can complete the program in one semester, taking classes one morning or afternoon a week. Their supervisors provide them with time for the classes, and they earn a certificate at the end by taking an exam.
"We have another set of eight, three-hour workshops for faculty, investigators, and those who are writing grants and doing research," McElwain says.
The workshops' attendance has been 800 total, including people who took more than one workshop, she adds.
In addition to the workshops, the institution has begun to offer 90-minute classes on hot topics, such as HIPAA, biosafety, and research compliance issues.
The program has 34 instructors, including McElwain, other staff and faculty.
"Most classes are team-taught and in a workshop format," McElwain says. "We have hands-on activities, including games, case studies, and some real world application, so it's not just three hours of someone lecturing."
While researchers and research staff working in human subjects research have to take specific human subjects research ethics training, the 14-week program is entirely voluntary.
"We have done very little advertising," McElwain says. "Most participants come through word-of-mouth, and the faculty encourage staff to attend."
Supervisors see the program as an asset, and some have added the coursework to job descriptions, she adds.
"A lot of our graduates who've completed our program have been promoted at the university," McElwain says.
There are no designated financial or performance rewards for completing the program, but many of the program's graduates have moved up the career ladder after receiving their certificates, she adds.
One of the ways the institution has marketed the training program to staff is through providing a graduation ceremony with hors d'oeuvres. It's attended by the university's president, provost, vice president for research, deans, department chairs, and supervisors, McElwain says.
"We published an article in our school newspaper on it, and we put photos on the Web site," she adds. "We kind of make a big deal of it because people spend a lot of time taking this training course."
Part of the program's success is due to how it was first designed, McElwain notes.
"When the program was first started it was a directive from the vice president for research," she explains. "We picked the top 15 people in research and formed a pilot group with them, asking them what they were missing, what they needed, and so we helped them gain ownership of it."
As a result, the original pilot group helped generate enthusiasm for the training courses among others at the research institution, she adds.
Once research associates began to graduate from the program, word spread.
"Now the faculty tell me how much more efficient their staff is because they know the things they need to help faculty in the research process," McElwain says. "I have a waiting list every semester."
McElwain speaks about the training program at national seminars and meetings, including the upcoming National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA) 51st Annual Meeting, held Oct. 20-24, 2009, in Washington, DC.
This also has helped to generate interest, and McElwain has been contacted by other research institutions interested in learning more about the program.
"We're willing to share our information to help other people get their training programs started," McElwain says.
The five-year-old, comprehensive research training program at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, SC, has a six-month waiting list, despite it being voluntary.Subscribe Now for Access
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