Procedures for Classroom Projects

When the classroom activity is strictly for pedagogical purposes and is not intended to contribute to generalizable knowledge and will not result in publications or public presentations (including the Undergraduate Research Symposium), then the project is not subject to Institutional Review Board (IRB) review, provided the following criteria are met:

• The research does not include topics of a sensitive nature;
• The participants in the study will be limited to other Loyola students who volunteer to participate;
• No minors or other vulnerable populations are involved in the research;
• The project will not involve dissemination of any kind (such as public presentation, publication, postings of findings on a web page, etc.); and
• The project would, if reviewed, fall under one of the exempt categories. Exempt projects include, but are not limited to, analysis of existing data; surveys, interviews, and/or observations of public behavior where the recorded information will be de-identified and the findings, if disclosed, would not be damaging to participants; research on the effectiveness of instructional strategies; and taste and food quality evaluations, provided the products are wholesome.

Please note that faculty members who submit applications to the IRB are responsible for both completing the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Protecting Human Research Participants online course and ensuring that classroom-based projects are conducted in accordance with those standards. 

When review is not required, faculty members also may choose to have students submit applications for research involving human subjects in order to educate students about the process of completing and submitting an application to the IRB.