De-Affiliation, Deactivation, or Deletion of CITI Program Accounts
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CITI Program accounts may be deactivated (and in most circumstances restored after deactivation if needed) at the sole request of the person to whom the account is assigned (the “account holder”).
The permanent action of account deletion also requires, in addition to the account holder's request, the permission of any institution that sponsored learner coursework for that account.
Account holders can themselves at any time remove (de-affiliate) institutional affiliation(s) for which training materials are no longer needed. See below for additional information.
By contrast, deactivation or deletion of an account (the latter subject to institutional approval) requires an email request, sent to support@citiprogram.org. The request should include either the CITI username or CITI Member ID associated with the account (ideally both), and must be sent from an email address previously associated with the account.
If an account change request does not originate from an email address on record for that account, additional proof of identity will be required. We generally cannot accept deactivation or deletion requests on the basis of a phone call, since that does not allow proof of identity.
Summary of Status Change Options
| ACCOUNT ACTION | DESCRIPTION | WHO/HOW CAN REQUEST | EFFECT | REVERSIBLE? |
| “De-affiliate” | Remove account’s coursework affiliation(s) with one or more sponsoring institutions. | Account holder can do this on their own by clicking “Remove Affiliation” for any no-longer-needed coursework. CITI Program Help Desk can assist if needed. | Account holder will no longer be enrolled in any courses or course series for removed institution(s) and will no longer receive notices of pending coursework for them. Records for prior coursework completions will remain available to the account holder and administrators at any sponsoring institution(s). | Yes. When logged in, account holder can “Add Affiliation” at any time to restore an institutional affiliation. Course learner group(s) for that institution’s coursework will need to be re-selected. CITI Help Desk can assist. |
| “Deactivate” | Lock the user’s account so that it cannot be accessed or used. | User request to CITI Help Desk. Proof of identity will be required (e.g., the request comes from an email address previously established for the CITI account). This is an option for users who do not qualify for deletion given past institution-sponsored coursework (see next). | No login access to account. All notices to account are suspended, such as coursework expirations. Prior coursework completions remain available via CR/CC permalink. Institution administrators retain access to data on past training activities. | Yes. Upon request to CITI Help Desk. As with the preceding deactivation request, proof of identity will be required. |
| “Delete” | Erase or anonymize all identifiable account data. This is the “right to be forgotten” under GDPR, CCPA, et al. CITI Program extends this option to all account holders regardless of jurisdiction, provided sponsoring institution permission has been secured. | Account holder must request, and confirmation of identity will be required by CITI Help Desk given the irreversible nature of this action. NOTE: If there is ANY institution-sponsored coursework for the account an administrator from the sponsoring institution(s) must agree in writing (from verified email account) to this deletion. Failing such permission being available, deactivation is an alternative (see above). | Account data is erased or rendered non-re-identifiable, including records of any previously completed coursework. Neither learners nor institution administrators can access data after deletion is completed. | No. Account deletions cannot be reversed. All records of account holder activities will be permanently lost. |
Frequently Asked Questions
I am getting notices from one or more institutions with which I am no longer affiliated. Do I need to deactivate my account to stop that?
No. If you are receiving notices from an institution with which you are no longer affiliated, you need only log in, go to “My Courses” and "Remove Affiliation" for such institution(s). The notices will cease.
If you no longer have access to your account, we can help restore your login credentials (upon proof of identity). Or the Support team can make that change on request (again requiring proof of identity).
Can I have my account records deleted entirely?
In general, we do not delete account records entirely, so that data on prior activities and course completions (if any) are available if needed in the future. If your course access was provided via an institutional affiliation, that institution will generally require that we retain your records for their own verification purposes.
Only if your course access was entirely provided as an Independent Learner, for courses for which you yourself paid, may an account record be deleted entirely without sponsoring institution permission. As with deactivation, account deletion requires an email request (and is subject to proof of identity).
Note that, unlike with deactivation, deletion is permanent and cannot be reversed. The data will be gone forever.
What about the "right to be forgotten"?
A right to deletion of data exists under laws such as Europe’s GDPR. (Strictly speaking, this right extends only to citizens or residents of EEA countries.) State laws in the U.S., such as California's CCPA, provide a similar right to residents.
CITI Program extends the “right to be forgotten” to all customers regardless of residency. But it is subject to the limitation described above for institution-sponsored accounts. Only accounts for which the individual him- or her-self has self-paid for all course access are entitled to full deletion unless there is/are also sponsor institution permissions.
-- For more details, see CITI Program's Privacy Policy.
-- For additional information or assistance call 888.529.5929.