Section 4000: Facilities/Risk Management
Institutional Review Board (IRB) for the Conduct of Research Involving Human Subjects
Administrative Regulation: AR-4080-A
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President’s Cabinet (PC) Approval:
6/19/84
Revised:
9/22/0909 |
An Institutional Review Board (IRB) is a group of individuals, authorized by the institution, to review behavioral research involving human subjects conducted at or sponsored by the College in order to protect the rights of human subjects of such research. Research is defined by the Uniform Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects as "a systematic investigation, including research development, testing and evaluation, designed to develop or contribute to generalized knowledge." Activities which meet this definition constitute research for purposes of this policy, whether or not they are conducted or supported under a program that is considered research for other purposes (i.e., some demonstration and service programs may include research activities that fall under this procedure) The IRB has the ultimate responsibility to determine risk with regard to human subject research and to approve or not to approve such research performed under the sponsorship of the College or its auxiliaries.
Campus policies and federal requirements regarding research with human subjects are implemented by the Institutional Review Board for the Conduct of Research Involving Human Subjects. The members of the IRB are appointed by the College president or designee and the College president appoints the chair of the IRB.
The protection of human subjects from undue risks and deprivation of personal rights and dignity are measured against three issues:
- Subject participation is voluntary, indicated by free and informed consent. The subject is free to withdraw at any time without jeopardy and may request that his/her data be destroyed;
- The degree, nature and management of risk to the subject and the researcher has been delineated explicitly by the researcher; and
- The appropriate balance exists between potential benefits of the research to the subject and / or to society and the risks assumed by the subjects.
All research meeting the above definition must be submitted for review to the IRB.
All Institutional Review Board processes are contained in the IRB manual which is reviewed annually by the IRB, with any changes being approved by the College president.