The Institutional Review Board mission is to promote the ethical conduct of research involving human subjects at the College. The committee seeks to protect the health and welfare of human subjects involved in research conducted by or on faculty, staff, and students affiliated with the College

Please note that the Tusculum College Institutional Review Board does not require or recommend submission of a request for non-research activities, including but not limited to, activities within a classroom setting which will not be distributed outside of said class and activities for personal study and professional development which will not be distributed.

All research done which utilizes the resources of Tusculum College and/or will be presented as having been sanctioned by, sponsored by, or related to Tusculum College must undergo review by the Institutional Review Board. Any researcher who wishes to use Tusculum College faculty, staff, and/or students in a study, regardless of the researcher's affiliation or lack thereof with Tusculum College, must submit a proposal to the Tusculum College IRB. While the board does not intend to micromanage research or ensure specific research is valid and/or optimally constructed, the board is tasked with insuring that any research complies with government regulations and with standards of ethical research.

To this end, we ask that all persons who will be doing research at Tusculum College file the Request for Review document templated on this page. Even if your research does not seem to involve human subjects, it is important that you file an exempt-type request as this gives a record that you

1. Followed all protocols to ensure that the health and welfare of all human subjects was protected
2. Did in fact have exempt status as final determination of status is determined solely by the Institutional Review Board

When you have completed all required documents, please submit your IRB Review Request to Dr. Melinda Dukes, Chair, by email at mdukes@tusculum.edu.