The UIS Institutional Review Board (IRB) invites UIS faculty, students, and staff interested in conducting research involving humans or using their data or biospecimens to review this site. The UIS IRB strives to help you make sure your research complies with applicable regulations, relevant ethical standards, and any legal and institutional requirements. Review the UIS Institutional Review Board Policies for answers to additional questions.

The use of human subjects in research is extremely important to the development of new knowledge in many areas. However, careful attention must be given to questions of ethics and human dignity whenever human subjects participate in research. All research involving human subjects must be formally reviewed and approved before any data are collected or human subjects are contacted.

UIS participates in the SMART IRB to facilitate the use of one institutional review board for inter-institutional human subjects research.

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Is your project ‘Human Subjects Research’?

Investigators may determine if a study involves "human subjects" or constitutes "research." The Department of Health and Human Services has helpful determination charts. However, they are not free from consequences of an improper determination and collect human subjects research data without proper approvals. When in doubt, reach out to the Human Subjects Review Officer (HSRO).

The HSRO or designee can make the determination of whether or not your project meets the federal definition of ‘human subjects research." If your research qualifies as both "human subjects" and "research," a full application must be submitted for IRB review. If it does not meet federal definitions of either "human subjects" or "research," a letter stating that the study has been formally determined to be non-human subjects research will be provided.

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Full Board Submission Deadlines

Most protocols do not need full board review. Research that falls completely into exempt or expedited categories are no more than minimal risk, and are typically reviewed by two members of the Institutional Review Board. Protocols that cannot fit into exempt or expedited categories, are greater than minimal risk, and/or recruit specifically from vulnerable populations require full board review. The IRB meets monthly during the academic year.

Please plan for 2-4 weeks for exempt and expedited review, and 4-6 weeks for full board review.

IRB applications are accepted on a rolling basis, but the deadline date for application submissions that may require full Board approval is 10 business days prior to the scheduled IRB monthly meeting.

The Spring 2025 meeting schedule and application submission deadlines are below. All meetings will be held on Zoom.

Spring 2025 Meeting Dates	Time	Application Deadline for Full Board Review
Wednesday, January 29th	10:00 - 11:00 AM	Tuesday, January 14th
Wednesday, February 19th	10:00 - 11:00 AM	Wednesday, February 5th
Wednesday, March 19th	10:00 - 11:00 AM	Wednesday, March 5th
Wednesday, April 23rd	10:00 - 11:00 AM	Wednesday, April 9th

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IRB Application and Other Forms

**Note: Applications must use current IRB forms & resources.

Research involves a ‘systematic investigation’ which generally refers to a methodical approach designed to answer a hypothesis and/or research question with a plan to systematically collect and analyze data. Formal IRB review requires the PI to include a Protocol describing the research design and methodological approach to the proposed activity. The current IRB Human Subjects Study Application includes a Protocol section. Please submit all IRB applications to ora@uis.edu. Upon IRB receipt of your application, you should receive a submission confirmation and an MS LIST URL to track your application’s status.

The following e-presentation provides the basics for preparing a successful human subjects research application for UIS IRB review: IRB Application Video.

Collaborative research, international research, and research involving vulnerable populations require additional information.

Required CITI Core IRB Training

All investigators involved with the collection and/or analysis of human subjects research must complete training before the project can approved.  The training is free for members of the UIS community and can be completed online, following the instructions on our Required Training page. When submitting an application, please submit the score report, not the completion certificate. Each of the 5 modules must be passed with a score of 80% or higher.

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Levels of IRB Review

Once you have submitted a Human Subjects Research Application, the UIS Human Subjects Review Officer will determine what level of IRB review is required for your application: exempt, expedited or full board review.

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Federal Wide Assurance and IRB Registration

The UIS IRB maintains federal assurances through US DHHS OHRP:

• Institutional Review Board Parent Institution/Organization: IORG0000852 (“University of Illinois at Springfield”), expires 09/07/2026
• IRB00001213 (“U of Illinois at Springfield”), expires 09/07/2026
• FWA00013968 (“U of Illinois at Springfield”), expires 11/01/2026

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Students and Research

Go to UIS Classroom Projects and IRB Review for additional information on IRB review for student research including course projects, capstone projects, master’s theses, and independent student research. Contact the HSRO for official IRB determination.

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IRB Members

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UIS IRB Members

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Resources

IRB Did You Know…?

Further training materials are available in the IRB section of the Resources page and our YouTube Channel.

Please contact us with your questions about the application process or the definitions of human subjects research: ora@uis.edu 217-206-8578.