The University of Iowa

Animal Facility Access

Instructions on how to gain access to the animal facilities:

Step 1: Click here: Training Form. Complete the form and click Animal Facility Access Training at the bottom.  Click submit.

Step 2: Form information will be verified.  The Access Coordinator will enroll the requester in the online training course through ICON/CANVAS.  

Step 3: Complete the online training course, including passing the quiz with a score of at least 80%.  At the completion of the course/quiz, submit the webform indicating the facilities for which you require orientation.

Step 4: The Access Coordinator will contact you regarding training time(s) and schedule training through the Outlook calendar system.

Step 3: Requester will need to print the form attached to the Outlook orientation invitation. The form must be brought to each orientation session to obtain the required signature(s). 

Step 4: Attend the scheduled training session.  If unable to attend, please contact oar-facility-training@uiowa.edu. Animal facility orientation/tour will be provided by the facility supervisor or an OAR veterinarian.

Step 5: Once training is complete in all required animal facilities and the form has been signed by each trainer, please contact Oar-facility-training@uiowa.edu.  Access Coordinator will schedule an appointment to perform hand scan and grant access.

Rodent animal housing facility entry order:

The order in which rodent housing facilities are accessed is dictated by the animals' health status in each facility.  Some risks accepted in the non-barrier facilities are excluded from the barrier facilities.  Therefore, if personnel must handle animals housed in both types of facilities:

  • Barrier facilities must always be accessed and animals handled prior to non-barrier facilities/animals.
  • After working with rodents housed in a non-barrier facility, the barrier facility must not be entered until the next day unless permission is granted in advance by an OAR veterinarian.