Pursuant to Article 26, Paragraph 9 of the Directions Governing NSTC Subsidies for Research Projects, the following requirements shall take effect on December 1, 2017:

■ First-time principal investigators and co-investigators must have completed at least six hours of academic integrity training within the three years prior to the day of project application.

■ First-time project employees must submit proof of participation in at least six hours of academic integrity training within three months of employment.

  FAQ  

Q1:I applied for a NSTC project prior to December 1, 2017, but the application was rejected. Do I count as a first-time principal investigator if I apply again now?

A1:No. These requirements only apply to first-time applicants for NSTC projects.

Q2:Who counts as a first-time project member?

A2:Postdoctoral researcher, full-time or part-time assistant.

Q3:Do these requirements apply to project assistants who participated in a NSTC project prior to December 1, 2017?

A3:No. Project assistants are exempt from these requirements if they participated in a NSTC project prior to December 1, 2017.

Q4:Does the 6-hour academic integrity training requirement apply to administrative project assistants?

A4:The NSTC defines two types of assistants—research assistants (who conduct experiments, analyze data, and write and publish research findings) and administrative assistants (who handle expense filing, questionnaire distribution, etc.). Only research assistants are required to undergo six hours of training; administrative assistants are exempt from such requirements.

Q5:How can I acquire academic integrity training credits?

A5:You can obtain the credits through (1) participating in  workshops and speeches held domestically or abroad (2) Online courses (i.e.CITI Programe, Epigeum-Research Integrity, AREE )

Q6:Does HREC or IRB training count towards the NSTC’s 6-hour requirement?

A6:Yes, but only maximum of 3 credit hours.The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) requires the research staff to undergo 6 hours of training in academic ethics. According to the definitions of “academic ethics” and “research ethics” released by the NSTC at the Workshop on Academic Integrity, human subject research ethics falls within the scope of research ethics, which itself falls within the scope of academic ethics. As such, training in human subject research ethics may count towards the overall academic ethics training requirements, but it is inadequate to cover the broad range of issues explored in academic ethics, such as academic integrity (including utilization of project funds, copyright infringement, unethical research behavior, authorship etc.).  In order to comply with NSTC policies and strengthen the oversight of academic integrity at NCKU, the Office of Academic Integrity determined at the first General Meeting on February 1, 2018 that it would no longer grant more than 3 credit hours for training in research ethics.

Q7:After finishing an online training course, will my training records be automatically uploaded to the Academic Integrity Credit Portal?

A7:No. You must upload the certificate and training records to the system yourself.

Q8: When will my attendance record at a training workshop be imported to the Academic Integrity Credit Portal?

A8: Workshops organized by the Office of Academic Integrity will be automatically imported into the portal. You can review your attendance records one week after the conclusion of any such event. Attendance records at workshops organized by other departments/offices will not be imported automatically. Please upload your certificate and training records to the system yourself.

Q9: How long will it take for my training records to be reviewed?

A9: Training records will be reviewed within one week of the date of application.

Q10: My NCKU ID has changed. How do I transfer my records from my old account to the new one?

A10: Please send an email to em56059@email.ncku.edu.tw titled: “Application to transfer academic integrity credits ” and include your old and new NCKU student/staff IDs. Please ensure that the training records in your old account are correct before contacting the Office of Academic Integrity.

Q11: A course I took included a seminar on academic ethics. Will the Office of Academic Integrity recognize this course as academic integrity training?

A11: Yes. Please refer to the Guidelines Governing Academic Integrity Credit Recognition for Semester-Long Courses for more information.