Institutional Review Board

Purpose: The Institutional Review Board (IRB) is comprised of five faculty members and one community member (with no affiliation to the College). The IRB is designed to protect the rights and safety, as well as the emotional and physical well-being, of human research participants. Research involving human participants conducted by faculty, students, and staff must be evaluated by the IRB.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services requires all colleges and universities to have IRBs to protect human participants involved in research. It is the responsibility of those IRBs to ensure that investigators comply with the relevant federal regulations and ethical guidelines set forth by the Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP).

Process: It is the responsibility of the lead researcher on any project to submit a proposal for IRB approval prior to commencing the research project. This submission must be complete and accurate for approval to be granted and to adhere to the given timelines.

The IRB reviews research proposals from all members of the Cedar Crest College community (faculty, staff, and students) and researchers from other institutions. 

Before submitting an application for IRB review, please visit the relevant links listed in the sidebar for information about the types of review, the submission process, and other pertinent information.