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About the Institutional Review Board
Penn State has established two Institutional Review Boards to review human participant research. Each board has the expertise available to review both social science and biomedical research.
The IRBs consist of faculty, staff, and community members appointed by the Vice President for Research. Each IRB must have at least one community member serving on the board who is not employed or affiliated with the University or has an immediate family member employed or affiliated with the University. All IRB activities are coordinated through the Office for Research Protections (ORP) located at The 330 Building, Suite 205.
The IRB is responsible to review and approve, require modifications in, or withhold approval of research involving human participants. Approval is only granted for one year or less; therefore, the IRB is also responsible for reviewing ongoing activities on a continuing basis. To assist in the ongoing reviews, ORP sends a Continuing Progress Report (CPR) form to the principal investigator approximately 75 days prior to the expiration of the approval. A reminder is sent 45 days prior to the approval expiration if the CPR has not yet been received. The CPR form must be completed and returned to ORP before the approval expiration date. Once approval has expired, the project will be inactivated and the file will be sent to University archives and subsequently destroyed. Once a project's approval has expired, a new application will need to be completed for review and approval before human participants research can resume. It is very important for investigators to follow their approved protocols. If a protocol is not followed as approved, the IRB may suspend those activities.
PLEASE NOTE: Approval for expedited and full review studies is granted for a maximum of one year. Exempt studies are granted an exemption determination for a period of three (3) years. The ORP attempts to reach all investigators prior to the approval expiration date, however, principal investigators are responsible for ensuring their approval does not lapse.
If you have suggestions for IRB-related workshop topics, please submit them on our Topic Suggestions page.
