Animal Care and Use (ACU) Core

The ACU Core courses are designed to help organizations fulfill federal training mandates and guidelines. The U.S. Government Principles, Health Research Extension Act of 1985, USDA Animal Welfare Act and Regulations, and the PHS Policy all refer to the requirement for appropriately trained, qualified, and experienced personnel, as well as the availability of instruction and training.

Federal training requirements extend to individuals who work with animals and individuals who are charged with overseeing an animal care and use program. The ACU Core courses are designed for different members of the animal care and use community:

Each organization develops refresher course requirements based on their animal care and use program needs. Therefore, learners should refer to their organization’s training guidelines.

Most organizations select a three-year period of retraining, although an organization’s training needs may differ. Refresher courses allow organizations multiple options for developing content to meet their retraining needs, including different timings between basic and refresher course stages, depending on the learner group.

Completion time will vary by learner and course. The modules are designed so that learners can complete them in one sitting or in multiple sittings, and there is no time limit for any of the activities.

CITI Program allows organizations to customize their learner groups, which means they can choose the modules their learners need to complete. We can work with an organization’s administrators to determine the learner groups that best fit their organizational needs. Organizations can also choose to use our recommended learner groups.

There is no uniform standard regarding the methods and format used for ACU training. CITI Program content is designed to be a component of an overall training foundation for an organization's affiliates. We recommend that organizations build frameworks of training that combine CITI Program content with face-to-face training, one-on-one mentoring, and other types of learning opportunities as appropriate to the particular topics and their organizational cultures.

Typically, training should begin with at least one basic course, followed by a refresher course that learners complete within a time period designated by the organization (for example, three years after completing the basic course). ACU Core also offers animal-specific courses that supplement the basic course(s) and can be presented to learners based on their research activities. Additional courses are available for individuals seeking training on post-procedure care of mice and rats in research, wildlife research, and post-approval monitoring. In addition, the ACU Advanced courses provide advanced training for IACUC members and other animal care and use personnel. The ACU Advanced courses include IACUC Administration, IACUC Chair, IACUC Protocol Review, Institutional Official: Animal Care and Use, and Semiannual Evaluations In Depth.