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Policy and procedures for the conduct of research involving human subjectsInstitutional
Review Board Membership And Committee Process
Membership
The membership of Mount Holyoke College’s Institutional Review Board
is appointed by the President in consultation with the Faculty Conference Committee.
In order to meet federal guidelines, the membership must include at least 5
members of varying backgrounds. There must be at least one member whose primary
concerns are in scientific areas and at least one member whose primary concerns
are in nonscientific areas. There must also be at least one external member
who is not otherwise affiliated with the institution and who is not part of
the immediate family of a person who is affiliated with the institution.
A member will not participate in the Board's initial or continuing review
of any project in which the member has a conflicting interest, except to provide
information requested.
Current members are:
Craig Woodard, Professor of Biology and Associate dean of Science
Rev. Richard Bondi, External member, Pastor of St. Theresa's Church, South
Hadley
Katherine Binder, Associate Professor of Psychology and Education
Alison K. Donta, Director of Institutional Research
Joshua H. Roth, Associate Professor of Anthropology
Summary of Committee Process (please see How
to apply and How proposals are
reviewed sections for further detail)
It is expected that all internal members be familiar with human subjects research
from current or prior personal experience with such research. Thus, appointments
are made in consultation with departments whose faculty typically conduct research
involving human subjects and with the Office of Sponsored Research. Beginning
with the Fall, 2002 semester, all Institutional Review Board members must also
complete the training in human subjects protection described below.
As an appointed Faculty Committee of the College, the Institutional Review
Board maintains records of its meetings and decisions, available on request.
It sets its meeting dates for each semester of the academic year at the beginning
of that semester. During Fall 2008 the Board will meet on Wednesdays to consider
proposals requiring Full Review. Proposals requiring Full Review must be received
electronically by 9 a.m. on the previous Friday to be considered the following
week.
Training: All researchers covered by this Policy whose research is funded
by federal grants must complete training in human subjects protection prior
to submission of a proposal to the Board. (Researchers funded by the National
Institutes of Health should consult the Board Chair for specific requirements.)
In addition, the Board may require such training of other researchers whose
background and experience, based on information presented on the proposal review
form, seems inadequate. Those researchers will be notified by the Chair when
such training is required. A copy of the certification of completion for each
investigator from one of the following online training modules must be submitted
to the Chair when training is required:
Option A: The Office for Human Research Protections of the U. S. Department
of Health and Human Services training is available online at here. Only Module
2 (Investigator Responsibilities and Informed Consent) is required.
Option B: The National Institutes of Health training module on Human Participant
Protections Education for Research Teams is available online at here.
For either option, investigators register online, complete the module, and
then print out a certification of completion. The training is free of charge
when only the certificate of completion is requested.
Review of proposals: The Institutional Review Board will consider proposals
in two categories: Expedited Review or Full Review (defined in the How
proposals are reviewed section). In either case, submission of the proposal as an e-mail
attachment to the Board is recommended for faster response. (If submitting
by e-mail, note that any pages requiring a signature must be sent separately
with original signature(s), but the remainder of the proposal will be distributed
as soon as received.) All submissions are acknowledged upon receipt. The Board
reviews proposals as received, and during the academic year will render a decision
as soon as possible, but at the most within five class days of receipt. If
a researcher is concerned about turnaround time, please consult with the Board
prior to or when submitting a proposal.
Decisions of the Board include: approval of proposal, request for more information
prior to a vote, or non-approval. When additional information is requested,
an ultimate decision will be rendered within five class days of receipt of
that information. A decision of non-approval may be appealed to the Board,
as detailed in the How proposals are reviewed section.
All approvals are for a specified period of time, normally one year. Any changes
to a proposal, including extending the time frame of the research, changes
to informed consent procedures or forms, or other protocol details must be
resubmitted to the Board for an Expedited Review.
Please see the How to apply section for further detail on how to prepare a
proposal for review to the Institutional Review Board.
Click here to return to Main Page of Policy or Click here to go to next section
(Who Must Apply)
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