Submitting Your IRB Application

All IRB applications are to be submitted electronically. Investigators are asked to complete the Electronic Submission Form, attach their IRB application and click "Submit Proposal" at the bottom of the form. 

Other required supporting documents—including the Informed Consent Form, copies of all questionnaires and data collection instruments and any other supporting documentation—should be attached to an email and sent to irb@skidmore.edu.

All files should be submitted as Microsoft Word files unless the documentation is only available in another format (e.g., PDF).

Overview of Application Submission Process

Note: While student investigators can prepare their IRB application and supporting documents, they are not authorized to electronically submit their IRB application. After reviewing the student researcher's IRB application and supporting documents, the student's faculty advisor must upload the application on the student's behalf.  The faculty advisor must be listed in the IRB application and informed consent form.

1. Investigator prepares IRB application.

2. Investigator completes the Electronic Submission Form, attaches the IRB application, and clicks "Submit Proposal" at the bottom of the form. 

3. Investigator emails all required supporting documents—including the Informed Consent Form, copies of all questionnaires and data collection instruments and any other supporting documentation—to irb@skidmore.edu.
   

4. IRB Coordinator notifies researcher (via email) that materials have been received, and provides the investigator with the protocol number associated with the IRB application. This protocol number is to be used in all correspondence related to the application.

5. The IRB application and all supporting documents go to the IRB Chair, who determines the type of review (e.g., exempt, expedited or full).
   
   
6. Subsequent to the review, the IRB application and supporting documents will be returned to the investigator with any comments, requests for clarifications, and/or suggested edits provided by the reviewing IRB committee members. The investigator will then be asked to return the materials highlighting any revisions made and providing responses to the reviewing IRB committee members' comments.

7. When the reviewing IRB committee members are satisfied with the revisions and/or clarifications, the IRB Chair will send the investigator a final, clean copy of the IRB application and supporting documents. The IRB Chair will then issue an approval letter along with any initialed, date-stamped informed consent/verbal assent forms.

The IRB seeks to be as timely and responsive to review requests as possible. While the IRB is typically able to review an application within five business days, it may take up to two weeks to review an application depending on the classification. If your application requires the IRB to convene for a full-board IRB review, your application and supporting documents must be received at least one week before the next scheduled meeting. See Meeting Schedule and Submission Deadlines for more details.

Submission of an Amendment to an Approved IRB Protocol

Plans to deviate from the approved protocol and/or supporting documents must be submitted to the IRB as an amendment request and approved by the IRB prior to the implementation of any changes, regardless of how minor, except 1) where necessary to eliminate apparent immediate hazards to the subjects and 2) minor changes to IRB protocols classified as exempt as follows:

• editorial or administrative revisions to consent documents or other study documents
• adding non-sensitive questions to a survey or interview or revising current questions
• increasing or decreasing number of participants, unless you are adding a new participant population

Amendment requests should be emailed to the IRB Chair. The email should summarize the proposed changes, and the most recently approved IRB protocol should be attached with the proposed changes outlined using track-changes. The Chair will determine whether or not the proposed changes require additional review by the IRB.