Institutional Review Board

The Institutional Review Board (IRB) must review all proposals for research that will involve human participants to ensure the safety and privacy of participants and the confidentiality of the information that will be collected from and about them. The IRB consists of faculty members from various Liberty departments and one non-university member. The IRB is part of Liberty University’s Research Ethics Office, which is responsible for ensuring that all research conducted by Liberty University faculty, staff, and students is done in accordance with federal regulations and university policy. Human subjects research is regulated by the federal government through the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Human Research Protections.

IRB Application Checklist

Before you get started on your IRB application, review this checklist! Using this checklist will ensure that you have created all of the required supplemental documents. Incomplete IRB submissions will be immediately returned.

IRB Application Checklist (PDF)

IRB Process Timeline

On the day of receipt by the IRB or the first business day after receipt if submitted over the weekend or on a holiday, each IRB application is assigned to an analyst. Within 1 to 3 business days of being assigned a study, analysts conduct a cursory review to ensure that necessary and adequate documents were received. If documents are missing or unsatisfactory, the analyst provides instructional comments within the application and returns it to the researcher who must make the necessary changes and return the application and documents to the IRB. A study is ready for review once the analyst determines that necessary and adequate documents have been received. This process can occur up to two times before a meeting is scheduled with the researcher and, if applicable, the faculty supervisor to address the deficiencies.

Within 15 to 20 business days after a study is determined to be ready for review, the assigned analyst conducts a preliminary review, and if necessary, returns the application and any documents with revision instructions to the researcher(s). The preliminary review is a comprehensive review of the application and all study documents.

Within 10 business days after a study is returned to the IRB following the preliminary review, the assigned analyst checks to see that all required revisions were addressed. If they were not or if additional revisions are needed due to updated information within the application, the application and, if necessary, documents are returned to the researcher with revision instructions. This process can occur up to three times before a meeting is scheduled with the researcher and, if applicable, the faculty supervisor to address the deficiencies.

Studies are categorized by the IRB based on the participants, procedures, and risks to participants. Some minimal-risk studies require a second analyst or a member of the IRB to review the application after assigned analysts have completed their review. This occurs within 3 business days after analysts complete their review. Greater than minimal risk studies require a full-committee review, which is generally scheduled within 10 business days of analysts completing their review.

Once the analyst, secondary reviewer, or full committee determines that all required revisions have been addressed, the assigned analyst prepares final versions of the study documents by removing all revision comments and accepting all edits, saves the documents to the researcher’s Study Details page in Cayuse, and issues the approval letter.

The average IRB review process time from receipt of an application by the IRB to approval is 1 to 2 months. IRB review is a collaborative process, and each application’s review time depends on the complexity of the planned study and whether researchers respond to revision requests in a timely and comprehensive manner.
Pre-Review status: Upon receipt by the IRB and until the point of approval, applications are listed as in Pre-Review on the researcher(s) Cayuse dashboard. They will not be listed as Under Review until the approval process has begun.

Submit an IRB Application through Cayuse IRB (Human Ethics)

IRB applications must be submitted to the IRB through Cayuse.
Please only log in to Cayuse when you are sure you are ready to apply for IRB approval.
For instructions on logging in and creating your IRB application, review Cayuse How Tos (pdf) and Cayuse FAQs (pdf).
After you have received IRB approval, any modifications, incident reports, or renewal applications must be submitted using Cayuse.
If you receive a “forbidden” message when you attempt to log in to Cayuse, please submit an access request. We’ll need to create your profile in Cayuse, and you will have access on the following day.

Supporting Document Templates

With the exception of studies that will only involve the use of publicly accessible data, supporting documents will be needed to conduct your research. Examples include participant-facing documents, like recruitment information and consent forms, and documents used to seek and obtain the permission of study sites. Additionally, the IRB application provided through Cayuse IRB (Human Ethics) will require you to attach supporting documents based on your planned research procedures as indicated by your application responses. We provide templates for supporting documents and strongly encourage you to use them. The templates, along with descriptions of when each should be used, are located on our Supporting Document Templates page.

Guidance for Researchers

IRB Policies

To ensure that researchers remain compliant with federal regulations, the IRB has developed the below policies:

Regulatory Information

Human subjects research is governed by numerous guidelines, regulations, and policies:

Federal Guidelines

Links to Federal Resources

State of Virginia Guidelines (pdf)

Title IX for Researchers (pdf)

IRB Assurance
- FWA#: 00016439; Expires 2/28/2029
Registration
- IORG#: 0006023; Expires 10/25/2026
Verification
- OHRP Website for Verification

Research Opportunities

Liberty University fosters an environment focused on academic achievement and excellence in research. Explore the below opportunities: