IRB Policy 220 Levels of Review

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Last Updated: Mar 25, 2026, 04:21 PM

Effective Date: September 10, 2021

I. Policy Purpose

To establish levels of protocol review

II. Policy Definitions

Research means a systematic investigation, including research development, testing, and evaluation designed to contribute to generalizable knowledge. 

III. Policy Statement

Research projects shall be reviewed at one of three levels, depending on the IRB Chair’s or designee’s interpretation of the project’s risk to the human subjects, in accordance with the Federal guidelines that define the categories of review:

  • Exempt
  • Expedited
  • Full board review

Class research demonstrations and projects that are not intended to contribute to generalizable knowledge are not required to be reviewed by the IRB. Results generated by such projects should not be published or presented in a public forum. Regular courses, research methods courses, and even service learning components of courses that use individual or group projects to engage people from outside that particular class may need IRB approval. Any of the following conditions requires IRB review:

  • If an interaction with people involves record keeping (e.g., field notes, survey responses) that will be stored and may be used in future publications by the student(s) or professor.
  • If any part of the work will be presented orally or in print to any audience larger than the enrollment of that particular class. This includes projects presented to or available to non-class members.
  • If the activity is entirely pedagogical, does not meet the definition of research (the gathering of evidence to report such findings to anyone outside the classroom), but carries unusual risk such as:
    • observations of, or interviews of, people on illegal or unusually sensitive subjects (e.g., immigrant status; drugs; pornography)
    • deceptions, by having students present themselves to non-class members as something they are not
    • norm violations, having students transfers the norms of a group in order to observe the group's response or ventures into risky venues.