Institutional Review Board (IRB)
Overview
Howard Community College (HCC) encourages and supports the assessment of learning outcomes and institutional effectiveness. Pursuit of scholarly work and research may involve the use of human subjects for data collection and analysis. HCC’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) reviews research proposals to ensure that the rights and welfare of human subjects used in research studies are protected; that risks have been considered and minimized; that the potential for benefit has been identified and maximized; that all human subjects only volunteer to participate in research after being provided with legally effective informed consent; and that any research is conducted in an ethical manner and in compliance with established standards. HCC employees, as well as investigators not associated with HCC who are conducting research involving HCC faculty, students, or staff, must submit their research proposal to the college's IRB if they are obtaining information about living humans, interacting or intervening with humans, or are supported by government funding.
Procedures
Examples
Forms
IRB Members
Application
Institutional Review Board Procedure - 61.17.01
1. HCC employees, as well as investigators not associated with HCC who are conducting research involving HCC faculty, students, or staff, must submit their research proposal to the college's Institutional Review Board (IRB) if they are obtaining information about living humans, interacting or intervening with humans, or are supported by government funding.
2. Investigators must submit the following documentation (not all may be applicable.)
- IRB application for exempt, expedited and full board review
- Description of research proposal
- Copies of questionnaires or survey instrument
- Evidence of completion of the Office of Human Research Protections (OHRP) human subject assurance training modules for researchers
- Informed consent forms
- Copy of home institution and/or other IRB approval
- Approval forms from applicable government agencies
3. All research proposals should be submitted to the chair of the IRB by the first Friday of the month. Submissions after the due date will be considered with the following month's group.
4. Once the proposal is received, it will be processed under the following schedule. Changes will extend the processing time. To facilitate the review process, investigators are encouraged to use HCC’s IRB reviewer checklist to determine if their investigation requires an IRB application.
Type of Form | Description | Estimated Processing Time |
Exempt | Research proposals with no risks to human subjects can qualify as exempt and will be reviewed by only the IRB chair. The IRB chair reserves the right to determine the use of human subjects and the risk level of the human subjects based on the submitted documents. Additionally, the IRB chair may request further documentation, recommend changes to the research, ask for clarification, or submit the proposal for review by additional board members. | 4 weeks (If complete and no revisions are required.) |
Expedited | Research proposals that involve minimal risks to human subjects can qualify for expedited review. The proposal will then be reviewed by two members of the IRB, one of which will be a member who best represents the area of study. An expert may be consulted, if necessary. The review team may request further documentation, recommend changes to the research, ask for clarification, or submit the proposal for review by the full IRB. | 6 weeks (If complete and no revisions are required.) |
Full Board | Research proposals that involve more than minimal risks to human subjects, or if the expedited review team cannot reach agreement about the proposal, then a review by the full IRB board will be required. The IRB board may request further documentation, recommend changes to the research, ask for clarification, or reject the proposal. | 12 weeks (If complete and no revisions are required.) |
5.
Approved
research
5. No more than 12 months is granted to complete approved research. Research that will exceed 12 months may re-apply for IRB approval. The IRB may revoke the investigator's privilege if the investigator violates or deviates from the approved methodology. Any changes in research methodology must be submitted to the IRB for approval.
Specific approval procedures and timelines are available on the HCC website.
For more information please contact:
Zoe Irvin
Executive Director of Planning
Research and Organizational Development
ZIrvin@howardcc.edu
