Systemwide IRB for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

UMBC has signed on to a new effort by the USM Kirwan Center for Academic Innovation to streamline the IRB process for UMBC faculty proposing SoTL research projects that pose minimal risk to participants. The Kirwan Center has partnered with the Human Research Protection Program in the UMCP Division of Research to develop a systemwide standing SoTL IRB protocol that has been approved by UMCP’s Institutional Review Board. Under an agreement signed by UMBC and UMCP, UMBC faculty can now use a simple protocol amendment form to propose SoTL projects to go to the UMCP IRB for expedited review.

For the purposes of the protocol, SoTL is defined as the systematic investigation of student learning, instruction, and/or teaching innovations and the dissemination of findings so as to contribute to a broader knowledge community. SoTL projects at their essence aim to improve student success by providing an evidence base to help inform course design and instructional decisions undertaken by faculty and programs.

For general information on the project, visit the Kirwan Center’s Systemwide IRB for SoTL project page. If you are a UMBC faculty member interested in submitting a SoTL study for IRB review under the protocol, visit UMCP’s Investigator Support and Resources page and go to the “Systemwide IRB – Scholarship of Teaching & Learning (SoTL) Resources” section to review the process and complete your amendment form. Faculty may contact the Faculty Development Center (fdc@umbc.edu) or the Office of Research Protections and Compliance (compliance@umbc.edu) in navigating the process.

Questions on the UMCP’s Institutional Review Board review procedures may be directed to sotlresearch@umd.edu.

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