CORE-2022 requirement
Effective March 1, 2025
There is a new requirement for all UVic researchers who work with human participants.
All UVic faculty, students (undergraduate and graduate), research personnel and staff applying for Human Research Ethics approval must complete the . Previous versions of CORE will not meet the requirement.
This requirement aligns UVic with other major research institutions provincially and nationally, and supports the ongoing success of UVic faculty, students, and research staff.
General FAQ: CORE-2022
1. What is the “TCPS2 CORE tutorial”?
- The CORE Tutorial is an essential orientation to the Canadian human research ethics guidelines and policy
- Completing CORE provides UVic researchers and research personnel with foundational knowledge about research ethics when applying for human research ethics approval for their projects, theses or dissertations.
2. Is the online tutorial free? How long does it take?
- The tutorial is free.
- It takes about three hours to complete. It is self-paced and can be completed in more than one sitting.
- On completion, you will receive a dated certificate in your name. Completion certificates are issued from the CORE platform. You can download them for safe-keeping and storage.
For assistance with the CORE Tutorial, contact their team: Webgrants@sshrc-crsh.gc.ca
3. Who needs to complete the CORE-2022 Tutorial?
- All UVic researchers applying for Human Research Ethics on UVic-RAIS or the Provincial Research Ethics Platform (PREP) for BC harmonized approval must complete the CORE-2022 Tutorial. This includes:
- Faculty (including emeritus, adjunct, visiting scholars and affiliate faculty)
- Faculty supervising or co-supervising UVic student researchers
- Co-investigators and collaborators
- Instructors (Course-based research ethics applications)
- Teaching assistants (Course-based research ethics applications)
- Post-doctoral students
- Graduate students, undergraduate students, visiting students
- Research assistants (paid or unpaid)
- Lab personnel
- Research coordinators and managers (grant-funded or non-funded)
- Librarians
- Staff
- The requirement applies to standard ethics applications, course-based applications and anonymized applications.
- The requirement does not apply to:
- Non-UVic researchers, non-UVic research personnel, community organizations, community partners
- UVic office staff and clerks asked by UVic researchers to send emails to a listserv or to post information on a department website or social media platform, whose sole responsibility is to help the researcher advertise a research opportunity
4. Why is the requirement being expanded at UVic? Why now?
- The tutorial provides practical and baseline knowledge about ethical research with human participants, communities and human biological samples.
In September 2019, UVic required the tutorial only for graduate students and post-doctoral fellows who would apply as Primary Applicants (PA) with their academic supervisor as the Primary Investigator.
We have expanded this requirement to all researchers and academic faculty supervisors of student research as it will provide important training and support toward the success of faculty and students and will help mitigate future risk for researchers. It is a key building block of research excellence within the institution. - The tutorial requirement expansion has been approved by the UVic VP Research & Innovation, the Provost’s Office and the Faculty of Graduate Studies, and it has the support of Deans and Associate Deans of the academic faculties as well as leadership in Learning and Teaching Support and Innovation (LTSI), UVic Students Society and the Graduate Students’ Society (GSS).
5. Do other Canadian universities have this requirement?
- Yes. Most provincial and national research-intensive universities (e.g., the University of British Columbia (since ~2011), Simon Fraser University, Vancouver Island University, Thompson Rivers University; Calgary, Toronto, McGill, Waterloo, Western, Memorial) and some post-secondary institutions/colleges (BC Institute of Technology, Emily Carr University) have this requirement for all researchers, academic supervisors of student research, students and research personnel.
6. How does the new requirement work?
- The Principal Investigatory (PI) faculty member—the lead researcher or the academic supervisor of the student researcher— affirms that their UVic student researcher and/or all UVic members of their research team have completed the requirement.
- UVic-RAIS: The PI answers a self-attestation question on UVic-RAIS ethics applications.
- Provincial Research Ethics Platform (PREP): When a UVic faculty member or staff is the PI or a member of a multi-jurisdictional team, they answer the current self-attestation question about the tutorial completion on the PREP application form.
- The PI is no longer required to upload individual electronic tutorial completion certificates to either UVic-RAIS applications or the Provincial Research Ethics Platform.
- The UVic PI is required to show the whole research team's certificates when requested by the UVic Research Ethics Board.
- We reccomend students and research personnel email their completion certificates to their PI for safe keeping. Each student and team member should keep a personal copy. You can re-access the certificate from the .
Key considerations
Existing studies approved before March 1, 2025
If a study received human ethics approval before March 1, 2025, and is expected to conclude before that date, the new requirement does not apply. The study completion form should be submitted as usual, and the Research Ethics Office will close the approved protocol.
Course-based research ethics applications
For course-based applications submitted by instructors, the requirement applies only to the instructor(s) and teaching assistants (TAs). It does NOT apply to:
- Instructors and TAs of course-based protocols approved before March 1, 2025.
- Students enrolled in research courses under an approved protocol. However, instructors may choose to include the CORE-2022 as a course assignment at their discretion.
Faculty who are academic supervisors of student and post-doctoral researchers
If an ongoing study conducted by an undergraduate, graduate, or post-doctoral student was HREB-approved before March 1, 2025, the new requirement does not apply to the academic supervisor or the student/post-doctoral researcher.
For new applications submitted on or after March 1, 2025, faculty supervisors and co-supervisors must complete CORE-2022. This ensures a strong research ethics foundation for guiding student projects. The requirement also applies to undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctoral researchers.
Principal Investigators (PIs) with research personnel
If a study received human ethics approval before March 1, 2025, and continues beyond that date, the new requirement does not apply retroactively to the PI or existing research personnel listed on the approved protocol. Graduate students already involved in the study for their project, thesis, or dissertation will have met the existing CORE-2022 requirements.
However, new UVic graduate students added to the study after March 1, 2025, for their UVic graduate project, thesis, or dissertation must complete the CORE-2022 tutorial. The PI must submit an Amendment Application to include the new student(s) and attest to their completion of the tutorial on the Amendment Form.
These guidelines ensure compliance with evolving research ethics standards while supporting ongoing and future research activities effectively.
Tutorial Certification version 2022 FAQ
1. What if I completed the tutorial at another university?
- UVic research ethics will accept your attestation for the Course in Research Ethics - CORE tutorial version 2022.
2. What if I’m not sure when I completed the tutorial?
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Certificates include the date of completion. If you are unable to access the certificate from the CORE Tutorial platform, please contact CORE Tutorial directly and they will assist you. Webgrants@sshrc-crsh.gc.ca
3. What if I experience technical problems registering for the tutorial?
- The following is from the
Problems registering? Please determine whether the activation email has been sent to your spam or junk mail folder – or if your institution is blocking it. For assistance, please send your contact information to Webgrants@sshrc-crsh.gc.ca. Tutorial technical assistance is available Monday to Friday from 8 AM to 4 PM Eastern time.
4. What if I completed a different tutorial, such as one from the US (e.g., CITI)?
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UVic will accept only the CORE 2022 as this training reflects current Canadian research ethics guidance, policy and content.