Fort Lewis College

Institutional Review Board

Application Review Process

• IRB applications must be submitted to the IRB by the Principal Investigator who must be a member of the faculty/staff. Submissions made by students will be returned.
• It is the reviewer’s responsibility to determine if the application requires a full review or an expedited review. Categories for each can be found on the website. The Institutional Review Board has the discretion to do a full review of an expedited application if the risks are significant. ALL research involving children requires Full Review.
• Expedited review applications can be submitted anytime. Only one member of the Institutional Review Board needs to review these applications. You will receive an e-mail within 7-10 working days after submission asking for more clarification, granting approval or denial. Once the concerns have been satisfactorily addressed, an email approval notice will be sent to both the researcher and the co-PI (student).
• The entire Institutional Review Board must review full review applications. All research involving children requires a full review. The Board meets during the last week of the month to review full review applications. You will receive an e-mail following this meeting asking for more clarification, granting approval or denial. Once the concerns have been satisfactorily addressed, an email approval notice will be sent to both the researcher and the co-PI (student). Researchers are encouraged to attend meetings when their proposals are being discussed.
• After your application form has been approved you must submit a signed, hard copy to Mary Ann Erickson, PhD, IRB Chair, in Whalen Gymnasium, Room 134.
• You must also complete Summary Documentation at the conclusion of your research. This may be submitted electronically or with your signed application.
• Federal certification forms will be provided if the project is being submitted for funding to a federal agency requiring such forms (USDA, NIH).
• Data from human subjects are not to be collected until approval is received from the Institutional Review Board.