What is the IRB?

Valencia encourages and supports the scholarly endeavors of students, faculty, and staff of the College, and this scholarly work often involves the use of human subjects for data collection and analysis.

The Valencia Institutional Review Board (IRB) serves as the College's protective eye to ensure:

• that the rights and welfare of human subjects are protected;
• that risks have been considered and minimized;
• that the potential for benefit has been identified and maximized;
• that all human subjects only volunteer to participate in research after being provided with legally effective informed consent; and
• that any research is conducted in an ethical manner and in compliance with established standards, including handling all private information with confidentiality.

What does the IRB do?

The Valencia IRB is authorized to review, approve, require modifications in, or disapprove human subjects research activities conducted by or through the College.

Did you know:

• There are three types of IRB review proceses - exempt from review, expedited review, and full review – where research protocols are subjected to different degrees of scrutiny.
• Individuals seeking to conduct research on human subjects may not solicit subject participation or begin data collection until they have obtained clearance by the Valencia IRB.
• Although community colleges such as Valencia are generally not considered to be "research institutions," all applicants for Federal grant funds involving 17 different agencies must have an IRB process in place to assure that proposals submitted are compliant with Federal human subjects regulations. In addition, the IRB compliance process applies to all research involving human subjects at Valencia (not just grants), applying to studies such as a dissertation, thesis, or research project. Also, approval of a dissertation or thesis by the institution where the individual is pursuing a degree does not substitute for or constitute approval by Valencia’s IRB.
• More journals are requesting proof of IRB clearance as a condition of publishing articles.
• Valencia approaches human subjects research as a compliance matter. The Valencia IRB does not evaluate the soundness of the proposed research study, the merits of the research design, nor the potential contribution of the research to the scholarly literature, except as they relate to regulatory compliance. However, going through the IRB process facilitates more thorough planning, which ultimately should inherently lead to higher quality research projects and outcomes.
• The length of the review process depends upon the research design. The IRB chair may issue exempt and expedited approval determinations, however projects that are not eligible for exempt or expedited review are reviewed at the next scheduled IRB meeting, and disapprovals of any application can only be issued by the full board.