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Institutional Review Board

The Institutional Review Board (IRB) supports Salt Lake Community College’s commitment to ethical research that contributes to knowledge while safeguarding the well-being of human subjects.

The Committee

The IRB is a committee comprised of SLCC faculty and staff from across the college led by the IRB Chair. The committee is formally designated to review and monitor research involving human subjects. Their work is guided by the following:

  • Federal Regulations: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services regulations for the protection of human subjects in research, The Common Rule (45 CFR 46 Subpart A).
  • Ethical Guidelines: The Belmont Report written by the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research.
  • Institutional Policy: SLCC’s institutional policy for Human Subjects Research.
A current list of committee members may be found on our Human Subjects Research Guidance Page. If you’d like to contact the IRB, please email the Chair, institutionalreviewboard@slcc.edu.

How we serve SLCC

The IRB reviews any research involving human subjects to ensure it complies with federal regulations, meets ethical principles, and protects the rights and welfare of participants. Each application is carefully reviewed, assessing potential risks and benefits to participants, the informed consent process, data collection methods, and data protection measures. Our work benefits:

  • Research participants: The IRB ensures their rights and well-being are protected throughout the research process.
  • Researchers: The IRB provides guidance and support to ensure their research complies with ethical standards and regulatory requirements.
  • SLCC community: The IRB safeguards the college's reputation and commitment to ethical research conduct.

IRB Review Process

The IRB application should be the final step of preparing to conduct human subjects research. If you’re unsure about needing IRB review, this flowchart was created to help.

To prepare for a smooth review process the following must be completed and submitted with the application:

  • CITI training for research personnel: All PIs, Co-PIs, Faculty Sponsors, and any research personnel that will interact with participants, have access to identifiable data, and/or work with identifiable data must complete CITI Training. Certificates of up-to-date CITI training must be submitted with the application.
  • Study materials: Any materials used in the study to contact, interact, and/or collect information from participants, e.g., focus group protocol, survey questions, informed consent and debriefing forms, must be created and ready for review with submission of the application.
  • Research protocol: The study should be planned and organized well enough to fully complete the IRB application. Applications that are missing necessary information will require the PI to provide follow-up information.

If you have issues completing the application or uploading documents, please email institutionalreviewboard@slcc.edu. Initial review of submitted applications typically takes 2 to 5 weeks. If any required documents or information are missing, time for review will be impacted.

CITI Training

CITI training is mandatory training for any individual planning to conduct human subjects research. CITI training can be time-consuming; therefore it is recommended to begin the training as soon as possible.

To complete CITI training for the first time:

  1. Register by selecting your organization affiliation as Salt Lake Community College.
  2. You will be asked a series of questions to determine which trainings you will be assigned on the platform. For Question 1 select “Social & Behavioral Research Investigator” and for Question 2 select “Social and Behavioral Responsible Conduct of Research”. For the remaining questions, select “Not at this time”.
  3. Complete the assigned trainings.

If you have previously completed CITI training, your certification expires after 3 years. To obtain certificates, log into CITI and access your courses. If your certifications have expired, you must complete assigned refresher courses.