- To ensure the smooth functioning of the IRB and the best possible outcome for applications, all faculty and students are encouraged to complete the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) program appropriate to their circumstance (i.e., Biomedical; Social & Behavioral; or Students conducting no more than Minimal Risk). After accessing the CITI site scroll down the institutional list to Willamette University, click on the link and follow the prompts to add a course. For Question 1, select "Human Subjects Research courses" and then for Question 2 the appropriate learner group.
- The Willamette University Institutional Review Board (IRB) adheres to federal guidelines (HHS CFR 45 Part 46) for determining the category of review involving human participants when proposals are submitted to it. Below are descriptions of general review criteria, types of risk that affect determination of the type of review conducted, exceptions to review, and the three types of IRB reviews conducted. It is the responsibility of the researcher to read through this section on Review Criteria prior to submitting an IRB application and to request the appropriate review given the research proposed.
- Only proposals submitted via the IRB website will be considered for review.
- All student proposals must be reviewed by their faculty advisor(s) who must submit an email confirming that he/she/they have approved the proposal before such proposals will be reviewed by the IRB.
- Any proposal that is not approved after IRB review will be returned to the applicant with details of concerns that need to be addressed for re-review. Student applicants will need to work with their faculty advisor(s) to rectify problems before resubmitting their proposal.
Review
- All proposals will be sent out for review to the IRB committee at 9am every Monday during the academic year. Proposals received after 9am Monday of a given week will be sent out the subsequent Monday. Exempt and Minimal Risk reviews should take 1-2 weeks and Full Board reviews should take approximately 3 weeks after they are sent out for review to the committee.
- The IRB will review applications throughout the calendar year. However, applicants should be aware that review times for submissions during end-of-year break and over summer may take longer than usual to process and plan accordingly.
Checklist
Proposals now include a checklist that must be completed as part of the proposal. The checklist ensures that all required parts of the proposal are included. Proposals missing required components will be returned to the researcher prior to review.
Informed Consent
Please refer to the Informed Consent form section for details on this requirement and a template that may be useful to applicants.