Students: If your Cayuse account says it is disabled, you must contact your faculty advisor. Students cannot request their own access to Cayuse.

Faculty/Staff: All requests for Cayuse access must come from a faculty or staff member and be sent from a Lamar University email address.

The following information must be sent to rspa@lamar.edu

•  Name
• LEA Email Address
• Department
• Department P O Box
• Contact Phone Number

All investigators, co-investigators, and key personnel must complete human subjects training prior to submitting an IRB. Lamar University uses CITI (Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative) for Basic Human Subjects Research (BHSR) training. Registration for courses is available through CITI

Electronic surveys used in conjunction with an IRB must use a secure survey platform. It is suggested electronic surveys at Lamar University use Qualtrics.

Qualtrics is a survey platform managed by Lamar University Enterprise Services. For questions or issues with Qualtrics please contact LU Enterprise Services at either mgjones1@lamar.edu or 409-880-7175.

The Institutional Review Board (IRB) is a committee established to review and approve applications for research projects involving human subjects. The primary purpose of the IRB is to protect the rights and welfare of human subjects.

Exempt Review - Research is no more than minimal risk to human subjects as determined by regulatory guidelines. May be granted by the IRB upon review of the application.

Expedited Review - Research only involves no more than a minimal risk to human subjects, including blood sampling in minimal amounts, review of records collected for non-research purposes, and survey research.

Full Board Review - Research involving greater than minimal risk, including studies with vulnerable populations or sensitive questions, as well as studies with the possibility of physical risk.

Various factors influence the length of time necessary to approve an IRB, including the quality of the application, current volume of applications submitted and under review, and the type of review. The approval process also depends on the type of IRB review submitted. Exempt and Expedited submissions are approved fairly quick but Full Board submissions take longer.

• Human Subjects training is not current
• Plan for protecting privacy of participants and maintaining confidentiality of their data is inadequate
• Consent documents lack required elements
• Missing or incomplete responses on IRB submission
• Information on submission or consent form is inconsistent
• Insufficient detail in description of procedures
• Misunderstanding of eligibility for exempt review

A consent form is a written document that explains the research study to potential study participants. This document is signed by the study participants and must contain information or statements to ensure subjects are fully informed about the study. If you are a student, please contact your faculty advisor for specific required document information.

To ensure IRB submissions are not delayed for approval, researchers are encouraged to review the IRB Submission Checklist to make certain all steps have been completed.

The Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) provides leadership in the protection of the rights, welfare, and wellbeing of human subjects involved in research conducted or supported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

45 CFR 46, the Code of Federal Regulations, provides guidance on the requirements for the protection of human research subjects.

OHRP provides a decision chart to aid those who need to decide if an activity is research involving human subjects that must be reviewed by an institutional review board (IRB).

The Lamar University Policies and Procedures on the Use of Human Subjects in Research provides guidance on the protection of the rights, welfare, and wellbeing of human subjects in research.

A consent form is a written document that explains the research study to potential participants. The Informed Consent Template is a guide to assist researchers that all aspects of consent are properly conveyed to the study participants.

Approval by an off-site agency is required prior to a member of the Lamar University research community conducting research at their site. The Off-Site Approval Template is a guide to assist researchers that all aspects of the approval letter are addressed.

If there are questions whether your project is human subject research, complete the Determination of Human Subjects Research form and email the completed copy to rspa@lamar.edu. The ORSPA will review the form and contact you upon the decision.