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Human Subjects Committee (HSC)

Purpose/Membership
The Human Subjects Committee’s primary responsibility is to protect the privacy rights and welfare of human research participants. The Committee oversees all research that involves people as subjects at ISU, and monitors such projects to ensure compliance with medical, ethical, and regulatory standards. The Human Subjects Committee (HSC) is also sometimes referred to as an Institutional Review Board, or IRB. 

Any research project involving human subjects that takes place at ISU or under its auspices must be reviewed and approved by the HSC. Research is defined as any activity that has the goal of adding to or enhancing generalizable knowledge within a discipline area. For example, a medical study or a poll of student opinions of socio-economic issues would qualify as needing HSC approval, whereas student course evaluations would not qualify: the knowledge gained in the latter activity is not generalizable, nor will it add knowledge to the “discipline area.” Additional information on activities requiring HSC approval is available here. If you have questions about whether or not an activity requires HSC approval, please contact one of the people listed here. FORMS are found here.

HSC members are appointed by, and the Committee reports to, an Institutional Official (the “IO” – at ISU, the Vice President for Research serves as the IO). Members must meet certain qualifications based upon experience and expertise, as required by federal regulations. HSC is federally required to have a minimum of 5 members (it currently has 11), and is led by a Chair, also appointed by the Vice President for Research. The HSC follows Standard Operating Procedures based on federal regulations and reviewed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

For ISU Researchers

In terms of whether a project requires HSC review or not, it makes no difference if a project is funded internally, externally – or even has no funding at all. Nor does it make a difference if the research is being conducted by a member of the faculty, staff, or student body. If a project involves humans as subjects of research, it must be vetted by the HSC. To obtain HSC approval, a researcher must submit an application, including the proposed protocol, to the Committee. The Committee meets every two weeks during the academic year and as needed during the summer. Guidelines for the preparation of an application are contained in the Human Subjects Manual for Investigators. Researchers should be familiar with the Manual’s contents, and required forms are available here.

The Human Subjects Committee requires Principal Investigators, Faculty Advisors, Co-investigators, and all researchers who contact human subjects in research to complete the CITI on-line training program. The Human Subjects Committee strongly recommends taking this training before starting your project so you can design and implement your study ethically. Idaho State University Human Subjects Committee will be notified immediately when learners complete the online course. Certification is for five years. Learners will be contacted when to recertify 90 days prior to expiration of their last completed test.

Researchers also should be aware that if their research is being funded by private industry, it is HSC policy to charge an Application Fee. Details are available here.

Assistance and Contact Information

Further information and assistance is available through either of the persons listed below. A full list of the HSC membership is available below.

Dr. Ralph Baergen, Chair	Patricia Hunter
x3371, Liberal Arts Room 247	x2179, Fine Arts Room 209
humsubj@isu.edu	humsubj@isu.edu

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Human Subjects Committee Members

Dr. Ralph Baergen, CIP (Chair)	Department of Philosophy	Mail Stop 8056
Dr. David Wold	Department of Sociology	Mail Stop 8114
Dr. Cathy Arvidson	Department of Nursing	Mail Stop 8101
Dr. Kate Reedy-Maschner	Department of Anthropology	Mail Stop 8005
Dr. Fredrick Hyde	Community Member
Dr. Cindy Seiger	Physical Therapy	Mail Stop 8045
Dr. Beverly Klug	College of Education	Mail Stop 8059
Dr. Steven Lawyer	Department of Psychology	Mail Stop 8112
Dr. Cara Liday	Department of Pharmacy	Mail Stop 8334
Dr. Cynthia Blanton	Health Science and Nutrition	Mail Stop 8117
Dr. William Woodhouse	Family Practice Residency Program	Mail Stop 8357

Forms and Instructions for Submitting a Proposal

Federal Wide Assurance IRB Number

Federalwide Assurance Number FWA 00014037 Expiration Sept. 28, 2016 assigned by the Division of Policy ans Assurances/Office for Human Research Protections/ US Department of Health and Human Services for Idaho State University IRB (Human Subjects Committee)