Abstract:

Increasingly more students as well as faculty and staff members are choosing online higher education institutions, including at the master’s and doctoral levels. One factor in the success of students in online programs is the provision of support services that align with their unique needs. Consequently, there is a need to identify (1) institutional challenges faced by online graduate students as well as the faculty and staff members who work with them and (2) effective strategies used during the research process. As the number of online graduate programs rises, more institutional review boards (IRBs) are having to engage with researchers completely online. Whereas extensive scholarly attention has been paid to IRBs at traditional brick-and-mortar institutions, little to no work has been shared on IRBs that engage with researchers online from a distance.

Despite the diligent efforts of the reviewers and professionals, the policies and processes of IRBs frequently are dysfunctional. At many institutions, the board’s scope of practice has extended far beyond originally intended, with reviewers and professionals going as far as terminating, delaying, and/or altering the nature of research. Complaints that IRBs fail or refuse to consider the effects on researchers’ time and ability to conduct research are becoming louder and more common, with researchers citing mission creep, bureaucratic delays, and required compliance with burdensome administrative requirements as being especially problematic. As a result of these challenges, some researchers can take steps to avoid engaging with the IRB, which can lead to ethical and moral issues.

Arguing that these unintended outcomes might be associated with IRBs’ basing their work on a faulty theoretical approach, Whitney (2016) suggested that the enterprise risk management (ERM) framework can be applied to address the pitfalls associated with IRBs. Several scholars have identified ERM as a best management practice for organizations of all types, including higher education institutions. ERM relates to the achievement of the objectives or mission in four areas, including compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Involving the identification, assessment, and management of risk, this framework can guide efforts to achieve compliant and consistent practices, including within an institution’s IRB.

At one completely online university that primarily grants graduate degrees, faculty, staff, and student researchers were complaining informally about the IRB’s lack of transparency, inconsistent reviews, practicing beyond its scope, and excessively long review times, sometimes resulting in students’ having to pay for an additional dissertation course. Therefore, more formal efforts were undertaken. Complementary to a survey of faculty and staff, an environmental scan was conducted of (1) policies and practices at peer and top-ranked institutions and (2) best practices cited in the relevant literature. The purpose of this presentation is to provide an in-depth description of the process and outcomes associated with the implementation of a framework to promote continuous improvement of the IRB at one online university. Many of the resulting recommendations were adopted by the IRB to enhance its efficiency and effectiveness to support and serve student, faculty, and staff researchers more fully. This framework can be applied at other institutions at which researchers engage with the IRB from a distance.

Keywords:

Diversity, Inclusion, Higher education, Improvement, Planning.