Institutional Review Board
To safeguard individuals (students, employees, or community) who may be participating in research projects, the College has established an Institutional Review Board (IRB) in accordance with the applicable federal, state, and local laws regarding the protection of human subjects in research.
Polk State College supports research and grant projects that are integral to carrying out its mission. Persons wishing to conduct human research at Polk State College must follow the IRB’s Human Research Protection Procedure and submit an Institutional Review Board (IRB) Research Protocol Submission Form for approval. Both forms and additional support materials are available below. Approval requests are submitted to IRB Chair Dr. Mary Clark, Vice President of Institutional Effectiveness, Accreditation, and Research, who will coordinate the review process.
The IRB’s composition is published as part of the College’s Standing Committees listing. As per College Procedure 5032 Polk State College’s IRB has the authority to approve/disapprove all human subjects research conducted within the organization, and suspend/terminate research not conducted in accordance with the regulations, statutes and principles or IRB requirements or that has been associated with unexpected, serious harm to subjects.
