Institutional Review Board

Research conducted by Prairie State College faculty, administration, staff, or students using human participants is now overseen by the Prairie State College Institutional Review Board (IRB), certified in July, 2014. Its purpose is to facilitate human subjects research and ensure the rights and welfare of human subjects are protected during their participation.

What is the Mission of the IRB?
Prairie State College (PSC) seeks to uphold the highest standards in the ethical conduct of research including the protection of human participants, including any and all identifying participant data, while enabling faculty, staff, administration, and students to conduct research in a timely and efficient manner. The primary objective of the PSC IRB is to facilitate those goals by reviewing, approving, modifying, or disapproving research protocols submitted by PSC researchers. The IRB process is determined by roles and regulations for federally funded research, primarily the provisions of the Protection of Human Subject in the Code of Federal Regulations (45 CFR 46) and supporting materials such as the Belmont Report. The PSC IRB is striving to create a culture of respect for, and awareness of, the rights and welfare of human research participants, while furthering knowledge and the highest standard of research. Download the Belmont Report

What Requires IRB Review/Approval?
All human subject research requires approval from the IRB, though the definition of such research may be unclear. At the present time, please contact the IRB Chair, Cynthia Cornejo, PsyD at ccornejo2@prairiestate.edu or call (708) 709-7775 for the appropriate decision tree and proposal forms which will be helpful in determining whether or not research requires IRB approval or qualifies for an exemption.

Note: If the pdf form does not open, try this method:

  1. Save the document to your computer/device first. Note: updating Adobe Reader may be required for desktop use.
  2. Open document and type in the needed information for each required field.
  3. Save as with a new name to keep your updates.
  4. Send (email) pdf as an attachment.

Thanks and source credit are extended to William Smith, J.D., IRB Director at Nova Southeastern University, Ft. Lauderdale-Davie, FL, for permission to use document templates, ideas, and assistance.

Office for Human Research Protection (OHRP)

February 16, 2016
The Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) provides the following graphic aids as a guide for institutional review boards (IRBs), investigators, and others who decide if an activity is research involving human subjects that must be reviewed by an IRB under the requirements of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) regulations at 45 CFR part 46. OHRP welcomes comment on these decision charts. The charts address decisions on the following:

  • whether an activity is research that must be reviewed by an IRB
  • whether the review may be performed by expedited procedures, and
  • whether informed consent or its documentation may be waived.

Considerations
The charts are intended to assist IRBs, institutions, and investigators in their decision‐making process and should not be used as substitutes for consulting the regulations. OHRP cautions that the full text of applicable regulatory provisions should be considered in making final decisions.

These charts are necessarily generalizations and may not be specific enough for particular situations. Other guidance documents are available related to specific topics, at OHRP Policy Guidance by Topic. OHRP invites inquiries for additional information.

The charts do not address requirements that may be imposed by other organizations, such as the Food and Drug Administration, National Institutes of Health, other sponsors, or state or local governments.

Thanks and source credit are extended to William Smith, J.D., IRB Director at Nova Southeastern University, Ft. Lauderdale-Davie, FL, for permission to use document templates, ideas, and assistance.