Activities That Can Receive Expedited Review

Research activities involving human subjects in the following categories may receive an expedited review by MCC’s Institutional Review Board.  The College bears the responsibility for determination based on notice provided by the principal investigator to the Institutional Review Board.

The following does NOT apply when (a) deception of subjects may be an element of the research; (b) subjects are under the age of eighteen; (c) the activity may expose the subject to discomfort or harassment beyond levels encountered in daily life; or (d) fetuses, pregnant women, human in vitro fertilization, children, or individuals involuntarily confined or detained in penal institutions are subjects of the activity.

EXCEPT FOR THE ABOVE EXCLUSIONS, the federally-approved Expedited Review qualifications are research activities that must incur no more than minimal risk for participants or represent a minor change in previously approved research that involves no additional risks to research participants, in accordance with HHS regulations 45 CFR 46.100. Examples of research activities reviewed on an expedited basis include:

  1. Research on educational curricula or teaching methods involving normal educational practices.
  2. Research involving the use of educational records if information taken from these sources is provided to the researcher in such a manner that participants cannot be identified.
  3. Research on individual or group behavior of normal adults (18 years of age or older) where there is no psychological intervention or deception.
  4. Interviews and interactive surveys on non-sensitive topics.
  5. Minor changes in previously approved research.
  6. Continuations of approval for previously approved no-risk research with no more than minor changes in procedures.

Expediting approval of  an activity from review does not absolve the investigator(s) of the activity from ensuring that the welfare of subjects in the activity is protected and that methods used and information provided to gain subject consent are appropriate to the activity.