Animal Care and Use (ACU)

Yes, the ACU 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 availability of instruction and training.

Federal training requirements extend not only to individuals who work with animals, but also to those individuals who are charged with overseeing an animal care and use program. ACU courses are designed for each member of the animal care and use community.

Learners: Each organization develops refresher course requirements based on their own animal care and use program needs. Please refer to your organization’s training guidelines.

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

CITI Program allows organizations to customize their learner groups, which means they can choose the content modules their learners need to complete. We can work with your admin to determine the learner groups that best fit your organizational needs. You 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 foundation of training 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 also offers animal-specific courses that are meant to supplement the basic course(s) and are presented to learners based on their research activities. Additional standalone courses for institutional officials, IACUC chairs, and IACUC community members, as well as individuals seeking training on post-procedure care, post-approval monitoring, and wildlife research are also available.