Meeting Schedule & Deadlines

The IRB convenes the fourth Thursday of every month with exceptions for University closures.

If a proposal requires review by the convened board, it must be submitted via IRBNet by the first Thursday of the month in order to be placed on the agenda for the meeting that month.

All proposals in IRBNet are assigned to one of the agenda dates based on date of submission. However, only full board proposals are reviewed on that day; all other proposals are reviewed on a rolling basis.

• Submission deadlines apply only to proposals requiring full board review.
• Expedited and Exempt proposals are accepted on a rolling basis.
• Proposals pertaining to research intended to occur over the summer should be submitted by mid-April. Proposals scheduled to begin in the fall should be submitted no later than the middle of June. Proposals intended to begin in the Spring term should be submitted by the end of November.

Be your own advocate!

Please take an active role in your IRB review. Insure that your study submission materials have been fully completed and submitted correctly. The notes below assist you in insuring a successful IRB process. 

• Allow a minimum of six weeks for an Expedited proposal and two months for a Full Board proposal in the event that multiple drafts are required for review.
• Reach out to your college's or school's IRB representative for assistance.
• If you have not received confirmation of receipt from the IRB within five calendar days of submission, please contact the IRB (if a student, please have your faculty advisor contact the IRB).
• Submitting a complete, well-prepared proposal is the best way to guarantee a smooth review of your proposal. Incomplete or missing documents, unclear information, and missed steps in IRBNet are the most frequent cause of delays.
• Processing Delays: There are certain times of the year that are particularly busy for OSSP and the IRB. Do remember that the IRB is made of of faculty members whose availability to review decreases during the following times of the year: midterms, December and early January, May (finals and graduation), and over the summer (many IRB members are off-contract during the summer months). During periods where faculty are not as available, it may take longer to gain IRB approval. Please factor this into your schedule when preparing your submission to the IRB.