Research Proposal due dates and IRB committee meeting dates

Proposals may be submitted at any time during the semester. They are reviewed as they are submitted.  If the proposal meets the requirement for a full review, the timeline is below.  Turnaround on reviews depends on several factors, but typically is completed within one to two weeks.

The below schedule is tentative & subject to change based on the availability of the committee members and the needs of the WLU research community.

The meeting dates for the 2024-2025 academic year are September 18, October 16, November 20, January 15, February 19, March 19, and April 16.

Proposals for review are due by one week before the IRB committee meeting; this is so that the members have at least one week to review them. Submissions after the application due date will be up for review at the next committee meeting.

Submission due dates are September 11, October 9, November 13, January 8, February 12, March 12, and April 9.

A quorum (majority) of IRB committee members must be present in order to vote on research that requires a full committee review. Special committee meetings can be requested for extreme circumstances, but not guaranteed.

The IRB may request the P.I., or other consultant, to attend meetings as needed.

Length of time for review: The length of IRB review from the submission of the initial application to the IRB decision depends on several factors: the type of review required, the timeliness of the researcher responding to IRB communications, amount of applications received and currently being processed by the IRB, and availability and responsiveness of IRB members. It is incumbent upon the researchers to allow for that necessary time of review, and to facilitate the review by being diligent in completing the application correctly and responding to feedback promptly. Typically, applicants will receive an email from the IRB regarding their submissions within one week of the corresponding IRB meeting.

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The IRB meets as needed the 2nd Wednesday in the Fall and Spring semesters. For full IRB review all applications must be submitted at least once week before the IRB meeting.  

The IRB does NOT meet over the summer. Contact the IRB Chair for information regarding calling a special summer meeting.