Delegated (Formerly Expedited) Student Ethical Reviews

A review qualifies for a delegated review if it meets the criteria outlined in Research That May Be Reviewed Through An Expedited Review Procedure. Qualifying protocols present minimal levels of risk of harm, therefore making them appropriate for an expedited process. Many LHAE student research proposals fall within this category.
 

Qualifying protocols present minimal levels of risk of harm, therefore making them appropriate for delegated process. Approximately 90% of protocols fall under this type of review. This meansthat one EREB member will review the protocol. It typically takes 4-6weeks for an answer from the delegated review.

Once the Ethics Review Unit at EREB receives your protocol, they will send it to the reviewer. The reviewer has two weeks (after they receive it) to return any comments or requests for changes.

If information/changes have been requested by the reviewer, you should re-submit your protocol with the changes directly to the Ethics Review Unit. The revised documents will either be reviewed by the Ethics Review Unit, the reviewer, or the entire Research Ethics Board, depending on how complicated the changes are. The length of time it takes to hear back from the EREB depends on who reviews the changes. It could take a few days (unit), to a couple of weeks (reviewer) to a month (entire board.)

Please note: the majority of the revised protocols are reviewed by the unit and should only take a few days to a week to receive feedback the second time. This process continues until the reviewer at EREB is satisfied with the protocol and approves the study.