Purpose of the Institutional Review Board: Normandale's Institutional Review Board's (IRB) mission is to assure the safety of participants in research projects, to assure the provision of full and informed consent by participants, and to give guidelines and guidance to researchers as to the ethical conduct of research.

The IRB reviews, approves or disapproves, and conducts continuing review of, research involving human participants.  The primary purpose of such review is to assure the protection of the rights and welfare of human participants.  Research involving human participants may not be conducted at NCC or by a member of the NCC community without prior approval from the IRB.

Normandale's IRB works to support and inform Normandale faculty, staff and students by providing consultation and education about the research process, the IRB application process, and federal standards and definitions related to research practices. Normandale's IRB also provides information and direction to individuals outside of the Normandale community wishing to conduct research involving Normandale employees and/or students.

Meetings: The IRB meets about every 3 weeks during Fall and Spring semesters and as needed in summer sessions. The IRB does not meet during official college breaks. For meeting dates, times and locations see Normandale's Committees Teams calendar site. If you are not a Normandale community member, contact the Chair at IRB@normandale.edu for meeting information.

Submitting a primary application for review:  Proposals for new human-subjects research must be submitted via IRB-approved forms prior to the initiation of subject recruitment or data collection. Proposals may be approved for a specific duration of time not to exceed one year; ongoing research may be re-approved by the IRB. To apply,read through and fill out the "Application Packet" form after downloading the documents packet. You may also find information in the Institutional Review Board Guidelines document helpful. Submit completed application packet and supporting attachments to IRB@normandale.edu .

Submitting an already-approved project for review: (NCC member) Research currently being done under Normandale IRB approval that is not determined to be "exempt" requires continuing review. See your initial IRB approval letter and a reminder email a few months before your continuing review must be completed for more information. To submit your research for continuing review, fill out the "Continuing review" document after downloading the documents packet. You may also find information in that Institutional Review Board Guidelines document helpful. Submit completed continuing review document to IRB@normandale.edu.

(Outside researcher) Projects involving NCC faculty, staff, or students that have received approval by an IRB at another institution still require a review by Normandale's IRB before the project begins at Normandale.  To begin this process, fill out the "Site Approval form" after downloading the documents packet if your study has been declared "Exempt" by your primary IRB. If your study falls under "Expedited" or "Full" review, contact Normandale's IRB Chair for the next steps. Outside IRB requests from individuals who are not affiliated with Normandale should first go through the Institutional Review Board at their home institution. Completed forms or requests can be sent to IRB@normandale.edu.

Other reporting circumstances and documents: The documents packet below also contains forms for Normandale researchers with a currently approved study to use if they want to change an aspect of the study (Amendment form), close the study (Closeout form), or report an adverse event of the study (Adverse Event form). In addition, the packet contains a Non-Human Subjects Research form that can be submitted if you are unsure if your project meets criteria for research involving human subjects but still want the IRB to review your project. All forms can be sent to IRB@normandale.edu.

To learn more: If you are interested in learning more about Normandale's IRB or have questions about the IRB's policies and procedures, including levels of application review, we invite you to download the folder of documents and look them over. Our Institutional Review Board Guidelines document may be especially helpful. You can also email the IRB Chair at IRB@normandale.edu or Bridget.Reigstad@normandale.edu with any questions or to set up a consultation appointment.

Download IRB forms and documents (Zip file)