Administrators representing or acting for Kenyon College who are considering doing a survey, focus group, or any other form of data gathering involving any members of the Kenyon College Community (students, faculty, staff, alumni, prospective students, etc.) should request guidance before starting any data gathering.
Many of the studies done by Kenyon Administrators fall into the realm of Quality Assurance or Quality Improvement (QA/QI) and can be reviewed by the IRB in the "Exempt" review category. List of IRB Review Categories
"Research" that is considered by the IRB in continuing reviews usually consists of a systematic investigation that is designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge and the results of which are to be shared with both individuals associated with and individuals not associated with the investigation.
Go to QA/QI
If you judge your project to be QI/QA or is otherwise eligible for "Exempt Review," you may use the Administrator's Request for Guidance form available on the IRB Forms page. If you judge your project to be research that will be shared outside of the College and will fall into the "Expedited" or "Full" review categories, please follow the steps for an Individual IRB Application.
Before you conduct an online QA/QI survey (or any other type of survey) of Kenyon College students, alumni, or employees, you must contact Erika Farfan, Director of Institutional Research, as well as the IRB.
All campus wide surveys must be approved by the Kenyon Institutional Research office and the IRB.