IRB - Announcements & News

Claim for Exemption from IRB Review
All learners conducting research projects for pilot studies, culminating projects, thesis, and dissertations, including theoretical studies, that may be eligible for exemption from IRB review, based on the data collection method, are required to submit an application for exemption to the IRB. They must be cleared for exemption by the IRB. Form 626 Claim for Exemption from IRB Review or Form 682 Application for IRB Exemption – Theoretical Research Projects are available on the IRB Forms page.

Adoption of CITI Course for the Protection of Human Research Subjects as the research educational training course for Union Institute & University learners, faculty, and staff

February 7, 2006
To: UI&U Learners, Faculty, and Staff
From: Mary Ginn, Ph.D., IRB Coordinator
Subject: UI&U New IRB Web-Based Research Training Program

Union Institute & University’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) is pleased to announce the CITI Course for the Protection of Human Research Subjects, a new Web-based research educational program. Completion of the program will be required of all UI&U learners, faculty, and staff conducting research and submitting IRB applications, effective March 1, 2006.

The CITI Course for the Protection of Human Research Subjects, also known as the CITI Program, meets federal requirements for training in human subject protections. Modules in the CITI Course contain information regarding research with human subjects that supplements the information contained in the IRB Handbook for Research with Human Subjects. A username and a password (different from your UI&U password) are required for registration for the CITI Course. You may access CITI through UI&U’s IRB Web site.

Preparation for Conducting Research
Learners contemplating conducting research with human subjects are strongly encouraged to complete the CITI Course prior to preparing research proposals required for their program completion. Additionally, faculty members whose learners are currently engaged or will be engaged in research with human subjects in the future are encouraged to complete the CITI Course to better guide their learners through the preparation of their research proposals and during their research studies. Each module may be completed in approximately 20 to 30 minutes. You may enter and leave a module at any time—completing a module in one session is not required.

The CITI Course modules provide excellent subject matter that would be useful as supplementary resources for reading and reviewing prior to or during doctoral program research seminars. Faculty members who convene such seminars are encouraged to incorporate the CITI Course into their seminar activities.

Completion Report
A notice of completion report is automatically sent via e-mail to the IRB Coordinator and the researcher when the researcher has completed all required modules. Researchers will not need to notify the IRB Coordinator that they have completed the Course. These completion reports may be printed, and they are archived by the CITI software if another copy is needed at a later date.

Compliance Dates
Until March 1, 2006, the IRB online tutorial and the CITI Course in the Protection of Human Research Subjects are both available through links on the IRB Web site. Learners, faculty, and staff may complete either the online tutorial or the CITI Course to meet the IRB’s training prerequisite for submitting an IRB application.

Effective March 1, 2006, the online tutorial will be removed from the IRB Web site, and all UI&U researchers submitting IRB applications will be required to complete the CITI course.

Please direct any questions to Mary Ginn, Ph.D., IRB Coordinator at 800.486.3116, ext. 1153, or mary.ginn@myunion.edu.

CITI Course requirement for faculty members who advise learners planning to submit IRB applications and research proposals for research with human subjects

TO: All University Faculty
FROM: Richard S. Hansen, Provost
SUBJ: Institutional Review Board Update
DATE: June 12, 2007

The UI&U Institutional Review Board has made the following recommendation in order to ensure that UI&U learners continue to receive appropriate and timely instruction and advice related to research with human subjects. This recommendation was forwarded to me in the spirit of continuous academic improvement. I have accepted their recommendation and, therefore, forward the following policy, effective immediately, regarding faculty who advise learners who submit IRB applications.

All faculty members who advise learners who submit IRB applications must complete the Basic modules of the online CITI Course for the Protection of Human Research Subjects, or provide documentation of equivalent training in human subject’s research completed within the last five years.

All learning activities related to research involving human subjects are to incorporate the CITI course into required “readings.”

Completing the CITI course is considered a component of faculty development. All faculty having responsibility for providing instruction in research methods and ethics, and all faculty responsible for evaluating learners’ research proposals and completed research are included in this requirement.

The IRB Web site provides helpful information about the IRB and contains access links to the CITI Course in the Protection of Human Research Subjects. A user name and a password are needed to register for this course. Each module may be entered as many times as necessary in order to complete all required Basic modules. When a satisfactory score is achieved on quizzes, a completion report will be sent automatically to the IRB Coordinator.

Direct all questions to Dr. Mary Ginn, IRB Coordinator at 800.486.3116, ext. 1153.