Animal Care Training FAQs

In accordance with Canadian Council on Animal Care guidelines, all personnel working with laboratory animals must be appropriately qualified and trained in the procedures to be performed. A list of required courses is shown below. The required training depends on the procedures each person will be performing on live animals.

Every course offered in the Animal Care Services Training Program has two parts:

1. Online self-study component. Each course has multiple online modules that can be read on your computer. An online quiz following the completion of the modules must be completed in order to enroll in a hands-on laboratory.
2. Hands-on laboratory component. Students must complete the online self-study component prior to registering for the associated hands-on lab. During the lab, personnel must demonstrate competency in basic animal procedures as well as skills specific to the species being used.

Currently, the certifications do not expire. Ongoing determination of the level of skill will occur through Post-Approval Monitoring Team visits, Clinical Veterinary recommendations, and Animal Care Committee recommendations. If you need to refine your ability to perform a procedure, please contact acs.training@ubc.ca.

1. Self-enroll in online course. Visit the ACS Online & Lab Rodent Courses page and follow the links to enroll.
2. Submit payment. Pay by credit card or provide TPP code online to confirm lab registration. The user receives an email once payment is processed.
3. Complete the Online-self study and Hands-on laboratory components. See above FAQ.
4. View certificate. Log in to RISe to view your personal profile and see your certification.

We recommend completing the courses in the order shown below. Note that you may complete the online component for each course concurrently. However, the laboratory components should be completed in the order shown below due to the prerequisites for each course. Personnel must demonstrate competency or proficiency in basic animal procedures, as well as skills specific to the species being used, by completing all hands-on training classes appropriate to their research.

English is the language of instruction and communication at UBC Animal Care Services. To ensure success in the hands-on laboratory portion of the courses, students must demonstrate an adequate level of understanding of spoken English. If a student does not have an adequate level of understanding of spoken English using some medical terms, please contact the training group (acs.training@ubc.ca) at least one week ahead of the lab to discuss the options available for translation services.

Please refer to Expectations for Training Courses.

Campus Wide Login (CWL) is designed to give users access to UBC’s online applications with the same username and password. A CWL account provides users with access to Canvas. CWL guest accounts are available for people who have a relationship with UBC, but do not have UBC-issued employee or student ID numbers. For more information, visit the Campus Wide Login page.

Students can enroll for the online components for all species and procedure specific courses at any time. Visit the ACS Online & Lab Rodent Courses page for details. A Campus Wide Login is necessary to access to Canvas Catalog. For more information, visit Enroll in Online Animal Training Courses.

The hands-on lab component for each species and procedure specific course is offered multiple times per month. The lab fee is paid upfront when students enroll in the program in Canvas Catalog. Students can self-enroll in a lab date through Appointy within the Canvas course.

The lab enrollment fee structure is based on your association with UBC.

UBC Vancouver and Okanagan Animal Users

BC Cancer Research Centre Animal Users

This option is only for BCCRC staff and researchers. Do not select this location unless you are working at BCCRC. Additional lab fees are charged to BCCRC user at the time of the lab. Refunds will not be issued to students who enroll in an incorrect laboratory or choose an incorrect association with UBC.

Non-UBC Animal Users

• Credit Card: Mastercard and Visa are accepted.
• Training Payment Processing (TPP) code: Enter your code in the Promotion Code field in Canvas Catalog during course registration. A TPP code will created after a valid ISD submission.

A unique TPP code allows Animal Care Services to bill goods and services to other UBC departments. These services can include research training and animal user training charges. To obtain a code, consult with your laboratory manager or research group. Enter the TPP code in the Promotion Code field in Canvas Catalog during course registration. Once the code is applied, the system will enable students to proceed with course enrollment. Charges will be applied to the appropriate Workday Cost Centre. Please keep the TPP code confidential within your research group.

UBC went live with Workday on November 2, 2020. Existing Standing Journal Voucher authorizations were replaced by an Internal Sales Delivery Form (Training). Laboratory managers and financial representatives should complete an Internal Sales Delivery Form for the Primary/Driver Worktag you wish to have set up for animal user training billing purposes with ACS. This is a one-time requirement that does not need to be fulfilled each year. Laboratory users will receive a Training Payment Processing code for use in Canvas Catalog for training related costs. This change has been implemented for course registrations as of November 10, 2020.

Yes. Multiple students from a lab may use the same credit card number or TPP code.

Animal Care Services has a "No Show" policy that will result in a fee for no shows. This fee must be paid prior to registering for a future hands-on lab. We encourage you to let us know in advance if you are unable to attend. This allows other students to attend a lab class if a space becomes available.

A no show is considered to be any confirmed enrollment where the student:

• Does not come in for the lab class at the scheduled time and does not provide advance notice; or
• Cancels the appointment less than 3 hours prior to the lab.

Please contact your supervisor or facility manager for enrollment details. Staff are able to self-enroll for the online self-study and laboratory components.

To change the selected date for your hands-on laboratory, visit the Manage My Enrollment page in Canvas. Follow the instructions on the page to select a new date.

The enrollment window closes 48 hours prior to the start time of the hands-on lab. You may make changes to the selected lab date before this deadline. Once the enrollment window has closed, please contact acs.training@ubc.ca to make changes. Any late changes will be subject to administrative fees. These fees are applicable to all students. Please see below for fee schedule:

*Refunds will not be issued to students who enroll in an incorrect laboratory or choose an incorrect association with UBC.

It is important all personnel working with animals in science demonstrate an acceptable level of skill performing animal procedures prior to working unsupervised. We offer additional hands-on practice sessions at no cost so students have additional opportunities to demonstrate an acceptable level of skill. Students who do not meet the competency requirements will be asked to discuss options to improve performance. Complete this form to request additional practice sessions.

The Canadian Council on Animal Care guidelines mandate that “All personnel working with animals in science must be knowledgeable about the principles of humane experimental science and ethical issues associated with the use of those animals including the Three Rs tenet (replacement, reduction and refinement).” This includes principal investigators, researchers, students, animal care staff, etc. UBC training requirements for animal users are delivered in two parts:

1. CCAC Online Ethics Course. An online training course offered and managed by the Office of Research Services. Completion of the Ethics Course is a prerequisite for species specific training courses.
2. Species and Procedure Specific Training Courses. Online and hands-on laboratory classes offered and managed by Animal Care Services. These courses are required for all personnel who handle animals in any way.

Yes. Animal Care Services provides animal handling and technique training classes to individuals listed on animal protocols. The courses offered by Animal Care Services are species and procedure specific. If you are an animal user working in a UBC animal care facility, you are required to complete the courses relevant to your work, in addition to the CCAC Ethics course.

Yes, the courses are species and procedure specific. You are required to complete all courses, for each species, appropriate to your research. If you are working with animals other than mice or rats, please contact acs.training@ubc.ca for details.