Institutional Review Board (IRB)

PVCC student smiling in front of Bolick Center

Research at the College sometimes involves human subjects for data collection and analysis. To protect and promote the dignity and well-being of participants in research conducted at or by Piedmont Virginia Community College faculty, staff, and students, the College formed an Institutional Review Board (IRB) in order to:

  • Determine which research requests involving human subjects require review;
  • Approve requests for research involving human subjects;
  • Conduct initial and continuing reviews of human subjects research;
  • Report findings and actions to the investigator and the institution; and
  • Ensure reporting of changes and unanticipated problems involving risks or noncompliance.

PVCC's Institutional Review Board (IRB) is an independent committee made up of at least five (5) members from the academic disciplines for which it has oversight and at least one member who is not affiliated with the institution.  The membership: 

  • Comes primarily from faculty
  • May also include students, staff, and members of the community
  • Must have the expertise and experience to evaluate proposed research projects
  • Must be diverse in terms of race, gender and cultural backgrounds

IRB Status:  
Piedmont Virginia Community College IRB #1 OHRP #IRB00014205. Effective February 2024.

Conducting Research at PVCC

If you would like to conduct research involving human subjects at PVCC, you must first receive approval from the College's Institutional Review Board, as appropriate, before you begin. Find out more about the IRB Review Process below and if your project requires approval.

Please Note: all external researchers (researchers outside of PVCC) will be required to submit a research proposal to the Office of Institutional Effectiveness & Research prior to submitting their project to the College's IRB. For more information, please review Research Policy # II - 70.4.

Step One: Determine if your project requires IRB approval.

Federal regulations define research and human subjects as:

  • Research is “a systematic investigation, including research development, testing, and evaluation, designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge.” View the Office of Human Research Protections page for more information.
  • Human Subjects is “a living individual about whom an investigator (whether professional or student) conducting research: (i) Obtains information or biospecimens through intervention or interaction with the individual, and, uses studies, or analyzes the information or biospecimens; or (ii) Obtains, uses, studies, analyzes, or generates identifiable private information or identifiable biospecimens" View the Office of Human Research Protections Data page for information on specimens collected from living subjects.
  • About whom indicates that the data must be personal information about an individual
  • Intervention includes physical procedures, manipulations of the subject, or manipulations of a subject's environment for research purposes (e.g., taking saliva or blood samples, having a subject view a video)
  • Interaction refers to communication (e.g., face-to-face, internet, mail, phone, etc.) between the investigator and the subject
  • Identifiable means that the subject's identity is or may be readily ascertained by the investigator or others, or is associated with the information or biospecimen.
  • Private information includes information about behavior that occurs in a context in which the subject can reasonably expect that no observation or recording is taking place; or, information provided for specific purposes by the subject in which the subject can reasonably expect will not be made public (e.g., medical records, academic records, personal journals).

If your project involves both research and human subjects, please complete all steps below, as required, before beginning your project. If you are not sure if your project qualifies as human subject research, contact IRB@pvcc.edu.

Step Two: Review PVCC Research and IRB Policies

The IRB reviews and oversees research to ensure that it meets ethical principles and complies with federal regulations, state laws, and college policies.

Step Three: Submit Proposal to Office of Institutional Effectiveness & Research

This step only applies if you are a researcher external to PVCC. If you are a researcher from outside of PVCC and wish to conduct research involving human subjects at the College, you must first submit a proposal to the Office of Institutional Effectiveness & Research for approval before proceeding to the next steps for IRB approval. For more information about this process, please review Research Policy # II - 70.4.

Step Four: Prepare and Submit IRB Protocol

Complete and submit the IRB Review Form to IRB@pvcc.edu for review. Please contact IRB@pvcc.edu for the form. Depending upon the type of research you wish to conduct, the review process will take time before you are able to begin. We recommend allowing ample time to complete this step, as some approvals may take several weeks.

Step Five: Complete Necessary Training

The Federal Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) requires Principle Investigators and key personnel of Human Subject Research to demonstrate that they have completed education on the protection of human research participants. The education requirement must be fulfilled by completing the Human Resource Protection Foundational Training, which satisfies the NIH educational requirement for training on human research protections for investigators and key personnel. View the training at this link.

Federalwide Assurance

Any research that is conducted or supported by any U.S. federal department or agency must be done through a Federal-wide Assurance (FWA) to ensure compliance with federal regulations (see the FWA terms and procedures). For the purposes of the FWA, federally-supported means the U.S. Government provides any funding or other support. This type of research will require additional training for both Principal Investigators (PIs) and IRB Members, as well as additional registration with the Office of Human Research Protections. Researchers should reach out to  IRB@pvcc.edu if they believe that their research is connected to or supported by the U.S. Government.

FAQs

Does my project involve human subjects?

Federal regulations define a human subject as a "living individual about whom an investigator (whether professional or student) conducting research: (i) obtains information or biospecimens through intervention or interaction with an individual, and uses, studies, or analyzes the information or biospecimens; or (ii) obtains, uses, studies, analyzes, or generates identifiable private information or identifiable biospecimens." ~ View the regulation 45 CFR 46.102

  • Data includes information or specimens collected from living subjects
  • About whom indicates that the data must be personal information about an individual
  • Intervention includes physical procedures, manipulations of the subject, or manipulations of a subject's environment for research purposes (e.g., taking saliva or blood samples, having a subject view a video)
  • Interaction refers to communication (e.g., face-to-face, internet, mail, phone, etc.) between the investigator and the subject
  • Identifiable means that the subject's identity is or may be readily ascertained by the investigator or others, or is associated with the information or biospecimen.
  • Private information includes information about behavior that occurs in a context in which the subject can reasonably expect that no observation or recording is taking place; or, information provided for specific purposes by the subject in which the subject can reasonably expect will not be made public (e.g., medical records, academic records, personal journals).

NOT human subjects research:

  • Research using data from the 1880 Census because the data isn't from living individuals
  • Survey that collects data about an organization's activities because the data isn't about individuals
  • Research using de-identified data sets because the data are not individually identifiable
Does the IRB approve a project retroactively?

No, the IRB does not grant retroactive approval. Contact IRB@pvcc.edu if you have questions about this.

Questions?

Institutional Effectiveness & Research   
IRB@pvcc.edu