Pathways to Success
Pathways to Success
About Our Workshops
Coordinated by the College of Graduate Studies, the Pathways to Success program offers the following free development opportunities for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars including workshops in Academic Integrity, Graduate Grantsmanship, Graduate Teaching, Personal Development, Professional Development, and Research.
Students can register for workshops, cancel their attendance, or download a Training Summary through their myUCF Student Center under Graduate Students then Pathways to Success.
Please see the Pathways to Success Workshop Registration Instructions for additional details.
Workshop Registration Instructions
Please see Pathways to Success Calendar of Events to see current workshop offerings in these areas and check back often for additional sessions.
Can’t attend in person? Check out additional offerings on our Online Workshops page.
Online Workshops
Do you have suggestions for future Pathways to Success programming? Please provide your feedback here.
Upcoming Pathways Events
Academic Integrity (RCR) Training
All students admitted to doctoral programs must complete training designed to instill an awareness and understanding of the fundamental issues of academic integrity and the responsible conduct of research (RCR) in a manner that is consistent with federal regulations.
To achieve this objective, doctoral students must complete the following required training:
- The online Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training in the appropriate disciplinary area
- Four face-to-face Academic Integrity workshops coordinated by Pathways to Success or an approved alternative training offered as a program requirement for all students in the program. Students in a program with an approved alternative Academic Integrity training must still complete the online CITI Responsible Conduct of Research training
Both the CITI RCR training and workshops are provided at no cost and are open to all UCF graduate students and postdoctoral scholars.
Note: Doctoral students who are readmitted with a new catalog year are required to meet the academic integrity requirements. Doctoral students who are moved forward in catalog year administratively are not required to meet the academic integrity requirements. Additionally, some doctoral programs are exempt from this requirement; please see list below.
When Must this Training be Completed?
There is no set deadline, but all Academic Integrity training requirements must be completed prior to a doctoral student’s advancement to candidacy. Students will not be able to enroll in dissertation hours until this requirement is met.
Where Can I Find Information on this Policy?
- Graduate Catalog, Academic Integrity Training
- Academic Honesty, Flyer PDF
Questions?
Contact College of Graduate Studies (407-823-2766 or gradworkshops@ucf.edu) if you have questions about academic integrity training.
Academic Integrity Workshops
The required Academic Integrity workshops are provided through the Pathways to Success program. Students must take at least two CORE workshops and at least two other CORE or ELECTIVE workshops, for a total of four workshops. Workshops are indicated as CORE and ELECTIVE in the workshop titles in the Pathways to Success registration area.
Academic Integrity workshops are offered every Fall, Spring and Summer semester at no cost and are open to all UCF graduate students and postdoctoral associates. Priority is given to doctoral students who are required to complete these workshops prior to advancement to candidacy.
Workshop Delivery Format
Each Academic Integrity workshop is offered in a two-hour, face-to-face session, including a combination of lecture and discussion with a focus on case studies.
How To Register for Academic Integrity Workshops
Students must register for all workshops through their myUCF Student Center under Graduate Students then Pathways to Success. Please see the Pathways to Success Workshop Registration Instructions for additional details.
IMPORTANT: make sure to register for workshops under the ACADEMIC INTEGRITY category, as they are the ONLY workshops that will count towards the completion of this policy.
Tracking Academic Integrity Workshop Completion
When attending a workshop, remember to sign in on the attendance roster, so your completion of the workshop may be recorded by the College of Graduate Studies in your university record.
You can view enrolled and completed workshops (courses) on the Training Summary page in your myUCF Student Center.
- Login to your myUCF Student Center, scroll down to the Graduate Students section and select the Pathways to Success link.
- On the Workshops Search page, click Your Graduate Workshops/Cancel Enrollments
- The CITI RCR module and the four Academic Integrity workshops will also be indicated in your “To Do” list in your myUCF Student Center until you complete these requirements
Programs Approved for Exemption of the Academic Integrity Workshop Requirement
The College of Graduate Studies has approved the following graduate programs for exemption of the Academic Integrity workshop requirement. Students in these programs are encouraged to attend the Academic Integrity workshops but are not required to do so. These students must complete the CITI Responsible Conduct of Research training requirement, which is not included in this exemption.
Students must take the course listed below for their program. No substitution or waiver is allowed.
- Clinical Psychology Ph.D. – CLP 7623 Ethical and Professional Issues in Clinical Psychology
- Curriculum and Instruction EdD (previously named Education EdD) – EDF 7494 Identifying Complex Problems of Practice
- Education Ph.D. – IDS 7501 Issues and Research in Education
- Educational Leadership EdD – Executive Track – EDF 7471 Research in Leadership 1
- Educational Leadership EdD – Higher Education track – EDH 7040 Research on the College Student (exemption only applies to students admitted in Fall 2019 or later)
- Hospitality Management Ph.D. – HMG 7588 Research Seminar Hospitality and Tourism
- Industrial and Organizational Psychology Ph.D. – INP 7081 Professional Issues in Industrial and Organizational Psychology
- Nursing DNP – NGR 7855 Evidence-Based Practice Development for DNP
- Nursing Ph.D. – NGR 7805 Doctoral Scholarship
- Physical Therapy DPT – PHT 6606 Research Methods in Physical Therapy (exemption only applies to students admitted Summer 2020 or later)
- Sociology Ph.D. – SYA 7309 Advanced Sociological Research Methods (exemption applies only to students admitted prior to Fall 2017)
Academic Integrity Workshop Descriptions
As a reminder, students must take at least two CORE workshops; the other two workshops can either be CORE or ELECTIVE workshops, for a total of four workshops.
Core Workshops
Doing the Right Thing: What Every Graduate Student Should Know About Research Misconduct
Stephen Kuebler, Ph.D. – Department of Chemistry
In this session, students will learn the 12 core areas of responsible conduct of research (RCR). The core areas will be explored using a combination of case studies and facilitated discussion. Emphasis will be placed on recognizing the historical foundations of RCR within the broader landscape of ethics. Students will learn how to leverage communication and disclosure for the ethical and responsible conduct of research.
Authorship, Credit and Collaborative Scholarship and Research: Ethical Pitfalls to Avoid
Steffen Guenzel, Ph.D., Coordinator, Writing Across the Curriculum, Department of Writing and Rhetoric
Andrew Randall, Ph.D., Civil Engineering
This workshop will help to clarify rules governing authorship of peer-reviewed publications and ethical guidelines. We will identify issues and decision making with respect to authorship through the instructor’s personal experiences and example case studies.
Data Management: Perils of Fabrication, Falsification, and Confidentiality
Liqiang Ni, Ph.D., Department of Statistics
This workshop addresses research misconduct in the form of fabrication of data or experimental outcomes, falsifying data or originality of material (e.g., plagiarism) and breach of confidentially of data as it relates to human subjects or contractual obligations. A historical perspective is given to highlight some infamous examples of misconduct and the ensuing scandals when they were publicized. Some mechanisms for discovery of bogus data will be noted to suggest that ultimately research misconduct will likely be discovered. Some long-term consequences of research misconduct will be identified that demonstrates the paramount importance of maintaining data integrity.
Ethics: Personal Integrity as a Graduate Student
Jonathan Beever, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy
This workshop is an examination of relevant issues involved in the concept of “integrity” in one’s role as a graduate student. Among the issues discussed are professional codes of conduct the meaning of “honor” and personal responsibility.
Elective Workshops
Intellectual and Other Conflicts of Interest: Your Rights and Responsibilities
Douglas Backman, Office of Research and Commercialization
This workshop addresses the various conflicts of interest encountered by faculty during their academic and research tenure. The session will address conflicts of interest between faculty and students, financial conflicts of interests related to sponsored research and conflicts of commitments related to faculty members institutional assignments and their private business or consulting activity. The objective of the session is to make the student aware of the various types of conflicts of interests and the student’s role and responsibilities in mitigating such conflicts. The session will use directed learning and case studies to facilitate decision-making scenarios.
Intellectual Property Rights
John Miner, Office of Research and Commercialization
John Miner from the Office of Research and Commercialization will present this seminar which will address intellectual property rights specifically concerning graduate student and post-doctoral fellows.
Ethical and Legal Issues in Teaching
Nancy Stanlick, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Philosophy
A discussion of various issues that may and do arise in college and university-level teaching, including disruptive student behavior, academic dishonesty, FERPA, your responsibilities as an instructor or Teaching Assistant. Also included as a central feature is the place of the UCF Creed and UCF Golden Rule as guiding principles.
How Diverse Attitudes and Perspectives Can Affect You in the Classroom and Workplace
Barbara Thompson, Assistant Director, Diversity Education and Faculty Engagement, Office of Diversity Initiatives
In the classroom and workplace, situations involving aspects of human diversity may arise that require each of us to reflect on our own biases. This workshop encourages participants to push their views on personal and professional integrity and ethical decision making to their limits. Bring with you the flexibility of thought and openness to different attitudes and perspectives as we discuss some challenging scenarios that ask us to decide what is the “right thing to do.
Ethical Decision Making in Graduate School and Beyond
Jennifer Wright, Dispute Resolution Services, Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities
Actions taken as a result of a decision made reflects one’s values and principles. Inherently, we know what is right and wrong behavior but do we understand how others judge right and wrong behavior. This seminar will provide problem-solving methods and critical questioning techniques associated with the practice of ethical decision making. During the seminar, participants will have an opportunity to strengthen one’s principles of professional conduct to be able to practice living by a set of ethical standards.
A Practical Guide to Preventing Plagiarism
Douglas Backman, Office of Research and Commercialization
This session will outline ethical writing guidelines and define commonly found plagiarism practices. The student will gain an understanding of how to prevent plagiarizing another person’s work and learn the proper use of citations when drafting research papers and journals.
CITI Training
The Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) Program is an organization that provides online research ethics education to all members of the research community, including more than a thousand U.S. and international institutions. Provided at no cost to researchers, this training includes several training courses with options for different disciplines.
CITI Responsible Conduct of Research Training
All doctoral students must complete the CITI Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training. However, CITI training is open to all UCF graduate students and postdoctoral scholars, and they are encouraged to take advantage of this free educational resource. Students should consult their faculty adviser and the UCF Institutional Review Board (IRB) for guidance on CITI training required for specific research projects. University policy requires doctoral students to complete the CITI Responsible Conduct of Research training module.
Creating a CITI Account for the First Time
- Go to citiprogram.org
- Follow the instructions on the CITI Main Menu to create a user account for yourself, giving special attention to these fields
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- Select “University of Central Florida” as your institution
- For your name, enter the same First Name and Last Name that displays in your myUCF Student Center (my.ucf.edu)
- On the second registration page, provide the information requested by UCF, giving special attention to these fields
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- Institutional email address – Enter your Knights e-mail address, which is your official UCF student e-mail address
- UCF Employee Number – Enter your UCF ID, example: a1234567)
- On the Select Curriculum page, scroll down to Question 3, Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR), and select the course in the appropriate disciplinary area for you.
- On the next registration page, you may also affiliate yourself with another institution, if you wish. Otherwise, select No.
- You have now completed CITI registration.
- To access the course, go to the My Courses section of the CITI Main Menu and you should see the Responsible Conduct of Research course.
- To start the course, click the red Enter link in the Status column.
You may choose to complete the training in one session or in multiple sessions. Always follow the instructions carefully in order to save your work and remember to check your progress as you go.
Once you have completed your CITI training, please send a copy of your certificate of completion to gradworkshops@ucf.edu.
Deadline
The CITI Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training should be completed by the end of a student’s second major (Fall/Spring) term of enrollment.
Questions?
Contact the College of Graduate Studies (407-823-2766 or gradworkshops@ucf.edu) if you have questions about academic integrity training.
CITI Protection of Human Research Subjects Training
Federal regulations pertaining to the protection of human subjects require that all researchers on a study that involves human participants have current training. The UCF Institutional Review Board (IRB) provides more information about this training. Students should consult their faculty adviser and the IRB for guidance on CITI training required for specific research projects. Please note: The Protection of Human Research Subjects Training does not fulfill UCF’s Academic Integrity requirement for doctoral students; only the CITI RCR training will be accepted for this requirement.
Available are:
Group 1. Biomedical Research Investigators and Key Personnel Group
AND/OR
Group 2. Social/Behavioral Research Investigators and Key Personnel Group
Questions?
Contact the IRB office at 407-823-2901 or 407-882-2012 or email IRB@ucf.edu.
Graduate Teaching Information
Most programs offer assistantships in which students serve as a research or teaching associate or assistant. Graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) may be appointed as classroom teachers (instructors of record), co-teachers or classroom assistants, graders, lab assistants, or other roles directly related to classroom instruction. Please see our Graduate Teaching (GTA) Information page for additional details.
View GTA Information Page
GTA training information is available on our GTA Training Requirements page. This training mainly involves self-paced online modules and there is no cost to students. While it’s primarily intended to prepare graduate students to teach at UCF, it is beneficial to any graduate student who may teach in various contexts in their future positions.
View GTA Training Requirements Page
Preparing Tomorrow’s Faculty Program
The Karen L. Smith Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning offers a Preparing Tomorrow’s Faculty Program every semester. This is a voluntary program on teaching in higher education, primarily intended for graduate teaching assistants but open to all UCF graduate students. The format for this program is mixed-mode. Participants will be expected to complete a series of online modules and attend six, two-hour meetings, which will be held on the Orlando campus. Participation is limited, so please enroll early. There is no cost associated with registration.
View Preparing Tomorrow’s Faculty Program Page