Institutional
Review Board
[Faculty
Handbook Category #2]
The purpose of the St.
Olaf College Institutional Review Board (IRB) is to safeguard the rights and
well-being of human subjects in projects conducted at or sponsored by the college. The IRB is a college-wide body appointed by
the Dean of the College and registered with the Office of Human Research
Protections (OHRP) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Its membership and responsibilities are
governed by federal regulations pertaining to the protection of human subjects
and by the terms of the Federalwide Assurance (FWA)
for the Protection of Human Subjects filed by the college with OHRP.
Responsibilities
include:
a)
Developing and disseminating
federally-compliant policies for the protection of human subjects;
b)
Developing and implementing
institutionally-appropriate procedures for ensuring the protection of human
subjects in all projects conducted at or sponsored by the college, in
collaboration with other members of the St. Olaf community;
c)
Promoting professional development within the
St. Olaf community about the ethical and legal obligations associated with
human subjects projects;
d)
Conducting reviews of generalizable
research project proposals as required by federal regulations, to ensure that
such research will be carried out in a manner which safeguards the rights and
well-being of the subjects.
Personnel shall in all
instances be selected to comply with federal legal requirements, but generally
shall consist of:
a)
A member of the Faculty of Natural Sciences and
Mathematics
b)
A member of the Faculty of Social Sciences
c)
A member of the faculty with disciplinary
expertise in ethics
d)
The Director of the Office of Academic Research
and Planning
e)
The Director of the Office of Institutional Research
and Planning
f)
A member of the staff of the Office of
Government-Foundation Relations
g)
An individual with relevant expertise or
experience who is not an employee of
h)
A student observer (non-voting)
The individuals
appointed to serve on the Institutional Review Board shall be selected in
accordance with federal regulations to the protection of human subjects. The Dean of the College shall appoint one
member of the IRB to serve as chair.
The term of appointment
for members of the Institutional Review Board shall be three years. Appointments are renewable. The terms shall be staggered.