Expedited Review

The federal regulations governing human subjects research establish nine categories of research that qualify for review under an expedited review process; in addition, the research must present no more than minimal risk of harm to subjects. Under the expedited review process, the protocol is reviewed by one or two IRB members instead of by the full board.

All applications for research must be submitted on the same protocol application form. The Program Analyst, in conjunction with the OPHS Director and the IRB Chairs, determines the category of review for submitted projects. The Human Subject Regulations Decision Charts published by the federal Office for Human Research Protections may help you see if your project may qualify for expedited review. In addition, you may contact your Program Analyst for assistance.

If a project qualifies for expedited review, the Program Analyst will perform an administrative review of the project in addition to the review performed by the IRB member. Based on the results of these reviews, the researcher may be required to submit revisions. Researchers can expect the expedited review process to take 3 to 4 weeks from date of submission to date of approval.