Darden College of Education
Human Subjects Review Committee
The Darden College of Education Human Subjects Review Committee is charged with reviewing all applications for exempt research that involve human subjects. Exempt research is defined by Federal law 45 CFR 46.101(b) which is intended to expedite research with human subjects that present a minimal risk or presents no risk to participants. The material on this site is intended to provide college researchers, including students at all levels, with information that assists with preparing an application for exempt research.
For information regarding ODU's policies for compliance when human subjects are involved in research studies, see the ODU web page at http://ww2.odu.edu/ao/research/compliance/humans.shtml.
Prior to submitting an Application for Exempt Research to the Darden College of Education Human Subjects Review Committee, researchers must determine that the research project is eligible for exempt status. See the Human Subjects Decision Tree to determine whether a Human Subject Research Review Application Form should be submitted to the ODU Institutional Research Board (IRB) or whether an Application Form for Exempt Research should be submitted to the Darden College of Education Human Subjects Review Committee. Also, see the possible exempt categories (categories 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, or 6.6) listed on the Application for Exempt Research to determine whether the research project fits into one of the exempt categories. The Human Subjects Decision Tree and the Application for Exempt Research may be accessed at the following web page: http://ww2.odu.edu/ao/research/compliance/humans.shtml.
Review Committee Members
Theodore P. Remley, Jr., Chair (Counseling and Human Services) tremley@odu.edu
Angela Eckhoff (Teaching and Learning) adckhoff@odu.edu
Eddie Hill (Human Movement Sciences) ehill@odu.edu
Sabra Gear (Communication Disorders and Special Education) sgear@odu.edu
Ginger Watson-Papelis (STEM and Professional Studies) GSWatson@odu.edu
Cherng-Jyh Yen (Educational Foundations and Leadership) cyen@odu.edu
DCOE Human Subjects Committee Review Process
Applications for Exempt Research are considered as they are submitted throughout the calendar year (including summer term).
For guidance in completing an Application for Exempt Research, see on this website the "Instructions, Information, and Suggestions for Completing the Application for Exempt Research to be Submitted to the Darden College of Education Human Subjects Review Committee."
Throughout the process of review, correspondence from the committee chair is sent to the RPI with copies to the additional investigators associated with the research project who are listed on the application.
Applications for dissertation or theses projects may be submitted once the dissertation or thesis committee chair has determined the research project plan is complete. It is not necessary that the dissertation or thesis project have been previously formally approved by the student's committee. Dissertation or thesis committee chairs are cautioned, however, to avoid submitting applications prematurely that would result in changes to the project having to be submitted to the Darden College of Education Human Subjects Review Committee at a later time for approval.
Step One:
Responsible Project Investigator (RPI) submits to the committee chair (currently Dr. Ted Remley, tremley@odu.edu) by email attachment an Application for Exempt Research in one PDF document with the name of the RPI first followed by the names of the other researchers listed in the application (for example: Smith-Jones-Brown-Davis). The application must be signed and dated by the RPI prior to creating the PDF document. Hard copies of applications are not accepted.
Step Two:
Committee members conduct an initial review after an application has been submitted to the committee chair and one of the following three determinations is made: the Application for Exempt Research (1) does not meet the criteria for exempt research; (2) is approved as exempt; or (2) is eligible for exemption if required modifications are made to the application.
Step Three:
If the committee determines that an Application for Exempt Research does not meet the criteria for exemption, researchers are notified by the committee chair by email message that a different ODU Human Subjects Research Review Application must be submitted to the university Institutional Research Board (IRB).
If an Application for Exempt Research is determined to be exempt by the committee, the committee chair notifies the researchers by email message, attaches a copy of the letter of exemption, and sends a signed hard copy of the exemption letter to the RPI through the ODU campus mail.
If an Application for Exempt Research will be exempt if required modifications are made to the application, the committee chair notifies the researchers by email message of modifications to the application that are required to be exempt and may also make suggestions regarding the application. The RPI modifies the application and resubmits it (in one PDF document) to the committee chair. Once the chair determines the required modifications have been met, the committee chair notifies the researchers by email message that the exempt application has been approved, attaches a copy of the letter of exemption, and sends a signed hard copy of the exemption letter to the RPI through the ODU campus mail.
Step Four:
Once an application has been approved, a number is assigned to the application. The first four digits represent the academic year (academic year 2012-2013 is noted as 2013). The 5th and 6th digits represent the semester (01=fall; 02=spring; 03=summer). The 7th, 8th, and 9th digits represent the order in which applications were approved for the semester (starting with 001).
IMPORTANT
Overview of IRB and Human Subjects Reviews
All the instructions and submission documents are available HERE.