The Institutional Review Board (IRB) oversees CCSF's compliance with federal regulations in its use of human subjects in research and assures a favorable climate for academic-oriented inquiry and protects the interests of the College.

All IRB decisions are governed by federal policy as laid out in Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects ("Common"). For more information, please visit:

Health and Human Services, Human Subjects Office of Extramural Research, National Institutes of Health

Submission Procedures

Please submit your petition to the IRB Co-Chairs using the CCSF IRB Petition form below.

CCSF IRB Petition

CCSF IRB Petition Form for download

The IRB Co-Chairs will determine whether your petition is exempt from full review, eligible for expedited review, or will require full IRB review.

Submission Dates

Petitions will be reviewed once quarterly with up to 6 weeks for a response from IRB. 

Exempt

Exempt petitions are reviewed by only the IRB Co-Chairs. Those petitions that are exempt from full review include those that fall within the specifications of Section 101b of the Common Rule:

(b) Unless otherwise required by department or agency heads, research activities in which the only involvement of human subjects will be in one or more of the following categories are exempt from this policy:

(1) Research conducted in established or commonly accepted educational settings, 45cfr690.doc 2, involving normal educational practices, such as (i) research on regular and special education instructional strategies, or (ii) research on the effectiveness of or the comparison among instructional techniques, curricula, or classroom management methods.

(2) Research involving the use of educational tests (cognitive, diagnostic, aptitude, achievement), survey procedures, interview procedures or observation of public behavior, unless:

(i) information obtained is recorded in such a manner that human subjects can be identified, directly or through identifiers linked to the subjects; and

(ii) any disclosure of the human subjects' responses outside the research could reasonably place the subjects at risk of criminal or civil liability or be damaging to the subjects' financial standing, employability. or reputation.

(3) Research involving the use of educational tests (cognitive, diagnostic, aptitude, achievement), survey procedures, interview procedures, or observation of public behavior that is not exempt under paragraph (b) (2) of this section, if:

(i) the human subjects are elected or appointed public officials or candidates for public office; or (ii) federal statute(s) require(s) without exception that the confidentiality of the personally identifiable information will be maintained throughout the research and thereafter.

(4) Research involving the collection or study of existing data, documents, records, pathological specimens, or diagnostic specimens, if these sources are publicly available or if the information is recorded by the investigator in such a manner that subjects cannot be identified, directly or through identifiers linked to the subjects.

(5) Research and demonstration projects which are conducted by or subject to the approval of department or agency heads, and which are designed to study, evaluate, or otherwise examine:

(i) public benefit or service programs;

(ii) procedures for obtaining benefits or services under those programs;

(iii) possible changes in or alternatives to those programs or procedures; or

(iv) possible changes in methods or levels of payment for benefits or services under those programs.

(6) Taste and food quality evaluation and consumer acceptance studies,

(i) if wholesome foods without additives are consumed or

(ii) if a food is consumed that contains a food ingredient at or below the level and for a use found to be safe, or agricultural chemical or environmental contaminant at or below the level found to be safe, by the Food and Drug Administration or approved by the Environmental Protection Agency or the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Expedited

Expedited review is conducted by the IRB Co-Chairs, and, as such, are treated similarly. Petitions that qualify for expedited are those that pose minimal risk to participants.

Full Review

All IRB members must review petitions subject to full review. Full review is required when proposed research poses greater risk to participants, such as medical interventions.