Institutional Review Board
Welcome to the San Diego Community College District IRB webpage. The IRB review procedures are designed to assist external investigators (i.e., doctoral and master's degree students and research agencies) with submitting requests for research and information involving San Diego Community College District students and employees. These procedures are consistent with existing Board Policy 0400, Research Involving District Students, Board Policy 3001, Student Records, Administrative Policy 3001.1, Student Records; Release, Correction and Challenge, and the SDCCD Policy on Research Integrity and Research Misconduct. The procedures and the stated policies also support compliance with FERPA and HIPPA regulations and Title 45 Code of Federal Regulations Part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects) from the federal Department of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health Office for Protection from Research Risks.
Are you an SDCCD employee interested in joining the IRB team? Fill out the interest form here.
The following provides an overview of the SDCCD procedures and guidelines for Human Subjects research:
1. All research involving or pertaining to students or employees conducted by individuals or groups outside of the San Diego Community College District (SDCCD) is subject to SDCCD IRB review regardless of status (exempt or expedited) or approval by an Institutional Review Board from another institution or agency. No proposals will be reviewed prior to IRB approval from the investigator's institution or agency.
2. SDCCD employees who are seeking to conduct research and/or use existing data and information for publication or public presentation purposes (e.g., doctoral dissertations or master's degree thesis) are considered external investigators and must go through the SDCCD IRB review process in order to gain approval prior to conducting research. SDCCD employees should not access data or information for their research even though the access may be available through the employee's work responsibility.
3. All external investigators must submit the following:
Proposal
Need assistance? Use the SDCCD IRB Proposal Form Desk Guide here or contact irp@sdccd.edu.
Forms
- Section C: The Investigator Compliance Attestation
Other Documents
- A copy of the signed human subjects IRB approval letter from the external investigator’s institution or agency
- A copy of all Informed Consent forms that meet 45 CFR § 46.116
- A copy of each research data collection instrument including: questionnaires, interview guides, survey instruments and testing instruments
- A copy of all recruitment materials including content for email notifications
4. Accompanying materials will be uploaded at the end of the Proposal form linked above. The IRB Chair or Co-Chair will notify applicants if any materials are missing prior to the review of their proposal.
IRB Submission Deadline and Review Dates
| IRB Submission Deadline Dates | IRB Decision Expected |
| Monday, October 9, 2023 | Monday, December 11, 2023 |
| Monday, January 8, 2024 | Friday, March 15, 2024 |
| Monday, February 12, 2024 | Friday, April 19, 2024 |
| Monday, March 11, 2024 | Friday, May 24, 2024 |
| Monday, August 12, 2024 | Friday, October 18, 2024 |
| Monday, September 9, 2024 | Friday, November 22, 2024 |
| Monday, October 7, 2024 | Friday, December 13, 2024 |
Note: The IRB does not meet during the summer months.