The Purchase College Institutional Review Board (IRB) oversees research conducted by Purchase College faculty, staff, and students, and will sometimes review protocols submitted by non-affiliated collaborators.  The Purchase IRB is a standing committee of the College faculty.  Its activities are overseen by the Associate Provost for Academic Affairs.

All research that involves human participants or animal subjects must be either exempted for review or approved by the IRB before it can be initiated.  To help protect volunteers, investigators must complete training and receive project approval from the IRB before beginning their work.

  • The IRB, composed of faculty peers and community members, can approve, modify, or reject proposed research based on its perceived risks and benefits to prospective subjects
  • The IRB reviews the studies at least annually and may modify or suspend the research if it decides that risks to subjects are greater than initially understood.

All faculty, staff, and students engaged in research must complete human research protections training, whether their protocols are for exempt, expedited, or full board review before submitting a full protocol review or exemption request.  The training need to be completed only once and your completion report or certificate must accompany your protocol submission.  The training addresses a broad range of human subjects issues, from logistical to ethical, and promotes compliance with federal guidelines.  Completing the training in advance will help ensure timely processing of your protocol submission.