Institutional Review Board (IRB)

The Community College of Philadelphia Institutional Review Board (IRB) evaluates internal and external requests to conduct research at the College to ensure the rights and welfare of subjects are protected and that any research is ethical, confidential, voluntary and poses minimal risk of harm.

As it stands now, CCP's IRB only reviews requests to involve CCP employees, students, or resources in research if the research has already been sponsored/approved by an outside IRB. CCP's IRB does not independently sponsor research.

Who Must Apply:

Any researchers who wish to use Community College of Philadelphia students, faculty or staff for human subject research must apply for research approval through the IRB. All research proposals are subject to full board review. Community College of Philadelphia does not conduct an exempt or expedited review.

Applications for Biomedical research are NOT being considered by the college at this time.

Human Subjects Research:

Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA):

IRB Review Calendar 

The IRB committee conducts reviews on a schedule. The deadline for submission is the last day a proposal will be accepted by the IRB for the corresponding review date. Any proposals deemed incomplete will only be re-evaluated during the next scheduled IRB review date. Community College of Philadelphia does not review proposals outside of the scheduled meeting dates.

The Deadline date is the last date a submission is accepted by the IRB for the corresponding review date. Any proposals deemed incomplete will only be re-evaluated during the next scheduled IRB review date. Community College of Philadelphia does not review proposals outside of the scheduled meeting dates.

Supporting Documentation:

Please review the requested supporting documentation listed below. You will not be able to submit a research inquiry without providing the required supporting documentation. We ask that all documentation be provided in PDF format.

1. Resume - Principal investigator's resume or Curriculum Vitae
2. CCP Policy Acknowledgement Form - Required form that must be signed by principal investigator on research proposal
3. CCP Confidentiality Form - This is a required form of all researchers to maintain the confidentiality and anonymity of Community College of Philadelphia and its individual students and employees.
4. Signed IRB Approval - If prior approval has been received, submit a copy of the signed approval from an Institutional Research Board or similar group or person responsible for project oversight
5. Informed Consent - If applicable, provide a copy of any informed consent forms 
6. Survey, Questionnaire, Tests, etc... - If applicable, provide a copy of any survey, questionnaire, test, etc... materials that will be used. If using multiple instruments, combine into one (1) PDF file and clearly label each. 
7. Faculty Approval Form - If conducting student-initiated research, this is a required form that must be signed by faculty adviser at institution of study
8. CCP Supervisor Approval Form - If a current CCP employee, this is a required form that must be signed by your supervisor or department chair
9. FERPA Waiver - There is the option to upload a FERPA waiver which is required when research includes requests for protected student academic data and/or the evaluation of student academic coursework
10. Additional Documentation - There is the option to upload one (1) additional PDF file with additional supporting documentation not covered above. Please note that this is not required.

Naming your files

Please name all documents to be supplied using the following format: Last Name, First Name Initial, Underscore "_", and Document Title (shown below). The name used for all files should be that of the Principal Investigator.

 For example, John Smith would name the following files:

• Resume/CV: SmithJ_resume 
• Informed consent: SmithJ_informedconsent 
• Faculty Supervisor Approval Form: SmithJ_facultyapprovalform

To initiate the IRB review process:

Complete the online CCP IRB inquiry form. It is best to have all required documents reviewed, signed (where applicable), and available for upload prior to completing this form. Proposals are accepted at any time and are reviewed in accordance with the CCP IRB Review Calendar.

If you have any immediate questions or concerns, please contact Eric Shannon at .