How long will it take to get my study approved?
Target Review Turnaround Times
The HRPP Office has target turnaround times for each review that we receive, as listed below. Please note that these turnaround times apply to each round of review for a submission. Some submissions may undergo two or three rounds of review before receiving a final approval.
- Exempt Review – 5 business days
- Expedited Review – 10 business days
- Full Board Review – within 5 business days after the Full Board meeting
The approval time for an application depends on the type of review (e.g. exempt, expedited, or full board) and on the completeness of the application submitted in iMedRIS. Submitting a complete application and including all of the required attachments will ensure a quicker review time. Be sure to review the Common Issues with Applications to make sure your application is ready for review prior to submission.
If you are conducting international research, collaborative research with individuals at other institutions, or research with vulnerable populations such as prisoners, please note that these reviews typically take longer to complete.
On average, the total time to approval for an Exempt study is 24 days. The average total time to approval for Expedited studies is 42 days, and the average total time to approval for Full Board studies is 3 months.
NOTE: These numbers are based on 2021 submissions. Approval time can vary depending on the research design, level of risk, and completeness of study upon submission.
The HRPP strongly recommends that you give yourself ample time to complete the submission and review process, using the guidelines above to plan when you should submit.
If you have questions on how to track your submission please see the following guidance.
Training Resources:
- Tracking a Submission in iMedRIS (video)
- Submissions Tracking in iMedRIS {link to screenshot page}
Common Issues with Applications
Delays in obtaining IRB approval are typically due to submitting incomplete applications, insufficient consent forms, missing recruitment materials, or missing survey or interview questions.
Understanding what is needed in your submission can reduce the time required for review. Listed below are the issues the HRPP staff most commonly see that can slow down approval times:
- The Faculty Advisor, Department Review Chair, Department Head, and any Sub- or Co-Investigators have not signed off on the study.
- Missing attachments – recruitment messages or recruitment announcements must be submitted, and so must consent forms and study instruments (study instruments include any survey, interview, or focus group questions participants will be asked, as well as any data collection instruments that will be used).
- Incomplete descriptions of study procedures, recruitment procedures and procedures used to protect participant privacy and the confidentiality of participant information.
- Consent forms missing required elements of informed consent. Please use the templates provided by our office.
- Discrepancies between the application form, consent form and other study documents. For example, the study application might say that participation will take 30 minutes, but the consent form says that participation will take 15 minutes.