Institutional Review Board

This committee develops, implements and regularly reviews procedures, guidelines and instructions for researchers (faculty, staff, and students) to ensure that human subjects are protected according to federal requirements.

The IRB works with individuals and departments that conduct research on human subjects to ensure that they are in compliance with regulatory protections and only approves projects that appear to meet all requirements. The IRB prepares and retains all applications and other documentation needed to meet federal requirements regarding the use of human subjects in research. The IRB coordinates training for its members and researchers as required by law. Please note that some research projects, including requests for institutional data, need to be reviewed by CSM’s Planning, Institutional Effectiveness, and Research Department (PIR) after you have obtained IRB approval. This is a separate process from submitting a proposal to the IRB, and IRB approval does not indicate PIR request approval.

Institutional Review Board Membership

Chairperson: Dr. Melanie Osterhouse, primary member, natural science, mdosterhouse@csmd.edu
IRB Liaison: Donna Staff, primary member, non-scientist, dlstaff@csmd.edu
Kristen Craft, primary member, natural science, community representative
Dr. Eden Kan, primary member, health science
Tamika Chance, alternate member, community representative
Edith Carron, alternate member, natural science
Bill Buffington, alternate member, non-scientist, community representative
Dr. Christopher Gransberry, alternate member, health science
Christine Schuette, alternate member, social science
Dr. Brandon Nzekwe, non-voting member, Executive Director, Planning, Institutional Effectiveness, and Research, bjnzekwe@csmd.edu

Research Review Forms

The College of Southern Maryland's IRB committee will assist principal investigators with deciding which type of review to request. There are four categories of review:

Frequently Asked Questions

As a CSM student, may I conduct my own research project at CSM?

Yes, CSM focuses on increasing student engagement and fostering students’ interests beyond classroom experience to pursue next steps learning in student-created research projects; therefore, research is supported.

First, you must obtain a CSM employee who is willing to serve as the project advisor. The employee may be faculty or staff but needs to have an advanced degree (master’s degree or higher) in the area being researched or a bachelor’s degree with equivalent research experience (at least 1 year of related research experience).
- Students, including dual enrollment students, who are minors (under the age of 18) may conduct research at CSM like any other student but cannot be the research subject of student-led projects due to their special population status. Special Protections for Children as Research Subjects | HHS.gov
- If the research subjects are human (such as utilizing surveys, focus groups, health interventions, etc.), then you may serve as the principal investigator (PI), but your employee project advisor must serve as the co-principal investigator (co-PI), and all Institutional Review Board (IRB) paperwork and procedures must be followed. (Note: specific guidelines may set the requirements for who is PI and co-PI) https://www.csmd.edu/About/pier/institutional-review-board/irb-procedures-infographic_updated-10-29-24.pdf
- If the research entails using CSM equipment, then you must have completed the corresponding CSM course where the equipment was utilized to ensure safety and proper usage (ex. Using Bunsen burners = having completed either a microbiology or chemistry course at CSM).
  - CSM consumables may be used if they do not infringe on the needed classroom supply (ex. Using sterile swabs and disposable pipettes). The fiscally responsible department chair approval would be needed to perform the experiment.
  - If the research contains biohazardous materials, then approval by the Department dean and fiscally responsible chair is needed (ex. Using microorganisms or chemicals).

Sample approval form

Project overview (include how the results of this project are to be utilized, such as in publication, presentations, etc.)
PI and employee Co-PI names and credentials	PI Name:
	Co-PI name and highest degree (BS, MS, etc.):
	If BS highest degree, then type of research experience and dates of experience:	If MS or higher degree, then area of expertise:

Equipment needed
Division/Department Chair signature
Dean/VP signature (if biohazards are used)

If I am unaffiliated with CSM (i.e. not a CSM employee or student), may I conduct my own research project at CSM?

Unaffiliated research requests include but are not limited to outside organizations, community members doing doctoral work, K-12 students doing capstone class projects, etc. This includes all forms of research (i.e. human research and research using CSM equipment).

Due to protection of resource allocations, research utilizing CSM equipment, both durable (ex. autoclave) or consumable (ex. chemicals) is not permitted.

Research involving human subjects (ex. surveys, focus groups) is occasionally permitted. Permission is based on the following:

Benefit to the college.
- Research results should be shared with the college.
Number of research requests in an academic year
- There is a limit of 3 approved unaffiliated research projects per academic year
Population being researched during the academic year
- To prevent survey fatigue that may impact CSM survey participation, a project may be denied if the same population is being requested for multiple research projects in an academic year

Permission is granted from PIR (Planning, Institutional effectiveness, Research) Planning, Institutional Effectiveness, and Research

If the research utilizes human subjects, then Institutional Review Board (IRB) paperwork and procedures must be followed. https://www.csmd.edu/About/pier/institutional-review-board/irb-procedures-infographic_updated-10-29-24.pdf

Note: IRB approval from another institution does not negate the need to obtain CSM IRB approval before using CSM subjects (employees or students) in research. IRB approval is needed for all human subjects’ research where data is not readily available to the public or for the use of any administration of surveys, focus groups, etc. The IRB provides the site approval for CSM. However, IRB approval does not encumber any CSM employee or student to help with the research.

No projects will be approved that fall under the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA) categories. Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA) | Protecting Student Privacy

Due to the Health and Human Services determining minors (those under 18 years of age) as a special population requiring special protection, CSM does not allow unaffiliated researchers to utilize minors in research studies. Special Protections for Children as Research Subjects | HHS.gov

If I am a CSM employee, may I conduct my own research project at CSM?

Yes, CSM employees are encouraged to advance their learning through research and doctoral studies.

If the research utilizes human subjects, then Institutional Review Board (IRB) paperwork and procedures must be followed. https://www.csmd.edu/About/pier/institutional-review-board/irb-procedures-infographic_updated-10-29-24.pdf
- Note: IRB approval from another institution does not negate the need to obtain CSM IRB approval before using CSM subjects (employees or students) in research. IRB approval is needed for all human subjects’ research where data is not readily available to the public or for the use of any administration of surveys, focus groups, etc. The CSM employee must not use their employee access to obtain data (subject emails, institutional data, etc.) that would not be available to the public. The employee must go through PIR to obtain the requested information. The IRB provides the site approval for CSM. However, IRB approval does not encumber any CSM employee or student to help with the research.
- Faculty members cannot conduct research on their own students due to the power position. The faculty members cannot serve as PI or co-PI on any research project using their own students. Faculty members may use former students as research subjects once the power dynamic is no longer applicable. Similarly, staff cannot research on their subordinates due to the power position.
- Due to the Health and Human Services determining minors (those under 18 years of age) as a special population requiring special protection, CSM does not allow minors to be specifically targeted for research. Special Protections for Children as Research Subjects | HHS.gov

CSM consumables may be used if they do not infringe on the needed classroom supply (ex. Using sterile swabs and disposable pipettes). The fiscally responsible department chair approval would be needed to perform the experiment.
If the research contains biohazardous materials, then approval of the Department dean and fiscally responsible chair is needed (ex. Using microorganisms or chemicals). The employee must have a master’s degree or higher in the research field to use college biohazardous material or have a co-PI CSM employee with these credentials.

Sample approval form

Project overview
PI (employee Co-PI where necessary) and credentials
Equipment needed
Division/Department Chair signature
Dean/VP signature (if biohazards are used)

May I use minors as subjects in my research project?

Due to the Health and Human Services determining minors (those under 18 years of age) as a special population requiring special protection, CSM allowance of utilizing minors as research subjects is limited. Special Protections for Children as Research Subjects | HHS.gov

For research involving internal process improvement not intended for sharing with external stakeholders (ex. CSM satisfaction surveys), minor students will be allowed as research subjects. However, parents/guardians will be allowed to have their student opt out from participating as a research subject.

For research involving internal process improvement intended for sharing with external stakeholders (ex. success rates of early college students), minor students will be allowed as research subjects. If any research about minors is shared with an external agency (ex. K-12 partners), a signed informed consent must be obtained from the student and parent/guardians.

Some aggregated data without identifiers is publicly available that contains minors (ex. graduation rates).

Targeting minors (for example, singling out minors for research, such as how minors perform in a class compared with the adult students) for research is prohibited; however, if all students are involved in a research project, minors, with parental/guardian consent, can choose to opt in for participation (ex. focus group on study habits). The process for parents to opt in is in place. The parent/guardian will be provided with the research instrument (ex. focus group questions, survey, etc.).

Targeting minors for research is prohibited for student-led projects and doctoral studies research done by both CSM employees and unaffiliated researchers.

No projects will be approved that fall under the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA) categories. Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA) | Protecting Student Privacy

CMS Page Edit