Institutional Review Board Bylaws

RIC's Institutional Review Board (IRB) is a committee of faculty and staff members who are charged with the responsibility of reviewing research involving human participants to determine whether they meet Federal Guidelines.

Powers and Duties

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

1. Consonant with approved policy (as identified in the document entitled " Institutional Review Board Policies and Procedures Manual"), the Committee shall establish, publish, and implement procedures governing the use of human participants for research conducted by members of the Rhode Island College Faculty/Staff/Student Body. The Committee shall make policy recommendations to Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs on matters within its purview. The Committee shall comply with all published regulations and policies of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) pertaining to the protection of human participants for purposes of research.
2. The Committee shall evaluate proposed research projects and activities involving human participants solely for the purpose of insuring that research projects are in compliance with federal regulations and the policies and procedures of this Committee. The Committee shall make every effort to avoid infringement of academic freedom.
3. The Committee shall maintain continuing constructive communication with the principal investigator of a study or, in the case of student research, with the faculty research advisor.
4. The Committee shall maintain appropriate and informative records of its reviews of applications and active projects; of documentation of informed consent; and of other documentation that may pertain to the selection, participation, and protection of participants. The Committee shall also review circumstances that may adversely affect the rights or welfare of individual participants.
5. The Committee shall present an annual report to distribute to the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs and RIC faculty and staff.
6. The bylaws shall be periodically reviewed and updated to reflect current regulations, policies, and procedures.

Chair

The Chair shall:

1. Receive all research proposals that involve human participants and shall make them available to the assigned reviewers.
2. Make an agenda available to the members of the Committee prior to each meeting.
3. Allow principal investigators (PI) to attend meetings of the Committee so that the PIs may have the opportunity to explain their proposals under consideration.

Membership

The IRB shall consist of at least five (5) voting members and:

• Membership shall conform to federal requirements. Members shall be appointed by the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs upon recommendation of the Committee members to serve for staggered three-year terms.
• No member of this Committee may take part in any reviews of any project or activity in which that member has an active role or in which there may be a conflict of interest.
• The appointment of the Chair will be made by the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs.   
• Members shall continue until their successors take office.

Meetings

• The Committee shall meet, as necessary, at the call of its Chair, or upon written request of the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs or any four members, and in any case at least once a semester.
• The Committee may take action only by majority vote in which a quorum of voting members is present.
• All meetings shall be subject to such advance notice as may be specified by the Committee.