Procedure 908: Human Subjects Research

Category: Administration
Covered Individuals: Faculty / Staff / Students / Volunteers
Approved: 2021-12-13

908.1 Purpose

All research being conducted with human subjects at College of Eastern Idaho (CEI), whether in person or via electronic/digital means; for the purpose of the gathering of information through questionnaires, interviews, focus groups, etc. to make inferences about a population; are subject to and must adhere to this procedure.

908.2 Scope

The Office of Institutional Effectiveness (OIE) will serve as the College of Eastern Idaho’s research clearinghouse. All research requests intended for any members or prospective members of the CEI community (e.g. applicants, students, faculty, staff, board members, and alumni) must be approved by OIE using the procedures described herein. OIE approval is not required for (a) faculty-supervised survey research that contributes toward students’ academic progress, (b) evaluation of an event by participants, (c) feedback from clients at the point of service, (d) teaching evaluation forms, or (e) forms used to collect information for administrative purposes (e.g. scheduling).

Acceptance of authorization to administer a survey or to receive data establishes an obligation on the part of the researcher to use these data responsibly, including not distributing the data to others in or outside the college, unless the researcher is an authoritative source for and an authorized distributor of the data and the recipient is authorized to receive the data. In addition, researchers are responsible for the proper handling and security of any personal information obtained in the survey process.

Those who wish to conduct research, which may include surveys, interviews, focus groups, etc., must submit a completed campus Research Proposal form at least 30 days in advance of the desired launch date. If approved, the survey will be added to the Campus Survey Calendar maintained by OIE.

In some cases additional review will be required. Determination of such will be done by OIE. The survey proposal will then require final approval from the President’s Advisory Committee (PAC).

908.3 Provisions

The Rights of Respondents

• The proposal form must include "contact information" (name, email address, telephone number) of the researchers should the respondents have any questions about the content of the form or about the use and/or publication of survey results.
• All participants must be notified that their participation is voluntary.
• Respondents must be notified in advance if data collected will not be anonymous.
• Respondents must be protected from risk of unreasonable harm, including any risks regarding confidentiality or privacy.
• Respondents must be notified prior to acceptance to participate of the time commitment and of any potential risks associated with their participation.
• If the survey tool or data analysis will include academic or contact information for CEI students, you may be subject to Federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) regulations. Non-public student data can be used without the student's consent by college employees for "legitimate educational" purposes provided the data are not reported in such a way that individual students can be identified. All other users must receive written consent from the students to access non-public student data. To learn more about FERPA, contact the Registrar’s Office at Assistant.Registrar@cei.edu.
• Surveys that request individual health information may be subject to HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). For more information, contact HR @cei.edu.
• A summary should be made available on request to persons who completed the survey.
• Respondents should be informed if the data or survey results will be published or distributed, including whether individual responses will appear in the published results.
• In some circumstances, data may be confidential and may not be made available publicly or to the respondents. Any such limitation should be made clear to respondents at the time the survey is conducted, as well as within the report itself. When restrictions apply, publication and/or presentation of survey results must honor the stated restrictions.
• If subjects are promised anonymity and a login is required to access the survey (e.g., Student IDs), the researcher must ensure that login information will not be collected and stored in a way that it can be connected to survey results.
• Personally identifiable information should be collected only as required in relation to the expressly stated purpose of research or a project.

Administering a Campus Survey

A) Any person/unit who wishes to administer campus research involving human subjects must first obtain approval from the Office of Institutional Effectiveness and in some cases the President’s Advisory Committee as determined by OIE. A Research Proposal form must be fully completed and turned into OIE at least 30 days in advance of the proposed survey launch date.

1. Turn in a completed Research Proposal form. (Appendix A of this document)
2. Include relevant information such as; IRB approval to conduct research, survey or questionnaire, proposed consent form, etc.

B) The Office of Institutional Effectiveness will consider the following criteria when reviewing campus research proposals. Prior to approval, OIR will offer recommendations for any actions needed to bring the research proposal into alignment with these criteria.

1.            Relevance to campus mission, values, and strategic plan(s)

2.            Minimal burden on campus constituents

3.            Usefulness of data to inform campus decisions

4.            Efficient use of campus resources

5.            Value to the broader population of campus constituents

6.            Clarity and functionality of research and related communications

7.            Compliance with FERPA, campus standards for confidentiality and information security, campus procedure on Human Subjects Protection in Research, and campus accessibility policies.

C) Upon approval, the campus survey will be added to the campus survey calendar maintained by OIE.

D) All campus surveys must include the following notation: “Approved by CEI Office of Institutional Effectiveness (month/year-month/year)”.

908.4 Incentives

If the cost or fair value of a participation incentive is greater than $50, the value of a survey incentive may be taxable to the recipient. The survey requestor needs to provide the tax reporting information to the Accounts Payable Office within one week of issuing the survey incentive so that CEI can comply with tax reporting requirements.

To offer a participation incentive to faculty and/or staff, it is imperative that the research requestor first consult with the Executive Director in Human Resources and the Director of Financial Systems and Disbursements in Accounting and Budget Services well before the participant incentive is offered. This will help ensure that the research incentive does not create additional compensation and/or tax reporting requirements for CEI.

908.5 Assistance with Survey Development, Administration, and Reporting

OIE will consider requests for assistance with the development, deployment and analysis of surveys conducted by academic departments, committees and task forces, and administrative units as time permits. Assistance with external projects (e.g., grant-related projects, dissertations, etc.) conducted by CEI faculty and staff may also be considered, but these will have a lower priority. OIE will deny a request for assistance if office resources are not available.

908.6 Resources

1.            CEI Research Proposal Form

2.            Site Authorization Template