Welcome
The Willamette University IRB adheres to federal guidelines for determining the nature of the reviews that are conducted when proposals are submitted to the IRB. 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.
Changes to the IRB Review Process
Several changes have been made to the IRB review process. These changes are effective for the 2007-08 school year. Before you submit an application for research with human participants, review the changes below.
Submissions
All proposals need to be submitted via the web (emailed proposals will no longer be accepted), and all student proposals need to be reviewed by their faculty advisor who must submit an email confirming that he/she has approved the proposal before proposals will be reviewed by the IRB.
Student proposals that are not approved will be returned to the student with comments about ways to improve the proposal. Students will need to work with their faculty advisor to address these comments before resubmitting their proposal.
Review
All proposals will be sent out for review to the IRB committee every Monday during the academic year. Proposals received after Monday of a given week will be sent out the subsequent Monday. Exempt and minimal reviews should take 2-3 weeks and Full Board reviews should take approximately 1 month after they are sent out for review to the committee.
No proposals will be reviewed over University breaks, between semesters, or over the summer except under exceptional circumstances on an ad-hoc basis.
No proposals will be reviewed after the dates listed below until the next academic semester's weekly reviews begin.
Fall Deadline: 2nd Friday in November
The final date that proposals will be accepted for review in the fall is the 2nd Friday in November. All fall research and early spring semester research proposals must be submitted to the IRB by that day.
Spring Deadline: 1st Friday in April
The final date proposals will be accepted for review in the spring is the 1st Friday in April. All spring semester and summer research proposals must be submitted to the IRB by that day.
Carson & Lilly Grants
Students receiving Carson Grants, Lilly Grants, or participating in formalized summer research programs such as SCRP may submit proposals for their summer research up until the last day of finals of the spring semester.
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
There have been additions to the required components of Informed Consent forms for research involving physical activity or exertion. Please refer to the Informed Consent form section for these additions.