Lansing Community College

Purpose Statement

The Lansing Community College Institutional Review Board (IRB) exists to protect the welfare, rights, and safety, of human subjects involved in research at LCC. IRB and HS-IRB (Human Subjects Institutional Review Board) are used interchangeably throughout this site.

The College's IRB is responsible for review and approval of all behavioral or biomedical research activities involving human subjects at LCC, for LCC, or with LCC students and/or employees, with the core purpose of ensuring the research meets ethical standards for human subjects involved in such research.

The college's IRB approval is required prior to conducting research involving human subjects at LCC, for LCC, and/or with LCC students and/or employees.

Please note that additional approval may be required by the division or department head prior to beginning your research activities.

Form and Template Links

IRB Research Application

The Primary Investigator (PI) must submit a new IRB Application, and associated attachments, for review by the IRB. This is for any research involving LCC employees or students – whether as investigators or research participants.

You can also complete and submit this form to request an IRB review and determination of whether the research falls under HS-IRB purview.

Word File IRB research application
Informed Consent Checklist

This resource serves as a guide for researchers when drafting informed consent forms, outlining the key elements required for participant consent.

Excel Spreadsheet File Informed Consent checklist
Continuing Review Form

This form is only used for existing approved HS-IRB research projects. It must be completed and submitted at least six weeks before the current HS-IRB approval expires.

Word File Continuing Review form
Survey Confidentiality Statement

This statement was created by the HS-IRB per request, and can be used on LCC distributed surveys. It is generally worded to cover many conditions. Please feel free to copy and paste the information in this document into your surveys.

Word File Survey Confidentiality statement

IRB and Human Subjects Research

Not all activities will need IRB approval. The IRB follows US Federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) regulations as determined by the Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) and laid out in 45 CFR (Code of Federal Regulations) 46. Subpart A within these regulations is known as “The Common Rule."

Research, in IRB terms, involves human subjects and is defined by the Common Rule as, “a systematic investigation, including research development, testing and evaluation, designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge.”

The following lists contain examples to help clarify the research that needs to involve our LCC Human Subjects Institutional Research Board (HS-IRB) and research that does not need IRB approval. However, if you have any questions do not hesitate to contact the HS-IRB at lccirb@star.lcc.edu . We’re here to help!”

 

Activity that DOES require IRB approval

IRB approval is required anytime human subjects are involved in:

  • Research that is a systematic investigation (including research development, testing, and evaluation), designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge to a larger group.
  • Research conducted, supported, or funded by federal, state, or local agencies or otherwise supported by an agency not affiliated with Lansing Community College.
  • Research in which the intent is to disseminate the finding(s) to a scientific audience (national, regional, state, local, or college meetings, conferences or presentations) or submit the results of the investigation to a scientific publication, electronic journal, or internet posting.
  • Research that involves private information, or biological or pathological specimens that can be linked to an individual.
  • Research involved with capstone/thesis research projects or independent class projects.
Activity that MAY NOT require IRB approval

IRB approval may not be required in some cases; however, if you have any questions or are unsure about your situation, please reach out to the IRB for clarification.

  • Course-related activities or assignments for educational teaching purposes that are part of the course and the information collected is not disseminated for use outside the classroom (e.g. labs, projects, class exercises). The assignment can include a presentation of data collected to the class, but the data must be destroyed at the end of the project.
  • Data collection for internal department or other college administrative purposes (e.g. course evaluations, employee and/or student satisfaction surveys).
  • Surveys issued or conducted by college employees for the purpose of improving services and programs of the college, or for developing new services or programs for students, employees, and/or alumni.
    • Note: If you are running a survey that will be distributed to more than 50 students and/or employees, or across multiple departments at LCC, please be aware that you must adhere to LCC Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) ‘Surveys of Large Scale’.
  • Informational gathering meetings, interviews, or surveys that focus on college processes, services, or policies (i.e. quality improvement and quality assurance surveys) unless clear intent is for generalizable knowledge.
  • College evaluations that are conducted under independent contract by an external agency for internal college purposes only (e.g. employee studies, customer satisfaction surveys, cost-benefit analysis, program enrollment, constituent demographics, and outcome analysis).
  • Items falling under Federal regulations classified as “not research”
    • Oral history, journalism, biography, literary criticism, legal research, and historical scholarship focused on specific individuals.
Research Decision Trees

The Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) provides decision charts to help determine if a project falls under IRB review or qualifies for exemption. Use the link below to access these charts in HTML format or download PDFs.

While the terminology can be complex, the general lists above offer guidance. LCC’s HS-IRB often uses these decision trees as a review rubric. If you've completed basic primary researcher training, the terms should be familiar.

Decision Trees
 

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HS-IRB Information

Chairperson
Melinda Wilson, PhD
Email: lccirb@lcc.edu

Vice-Chairperson
James Owens, MA
Email: lccirb@lcc.edu

Administrator
Matthew Fall, PhD
Email: lccirb@lcc.edu

HS-IRB Members

  • Patti Ayers, BA, Student Ombuds
  • Heather Bunce, EdD
  • Kali Majumdar, PhD
  • Louise Simon, PhD, Community Member