Quality Assurance/Quality Improvement (QA/QI) studies/projects assess how an organization, group, faculty, department, or program is doing and is an activity usually undertaken by members of Kenyon College for administrative or operational reasons.
For a QA/QI project to be "exempt" from continuing ethics review,
- the project must be within the mandate of Kenyon College or according to the terms and conditions of employment or training,
- the project must be a review of practices and procedures designed to identify possible improvements,
- the project only involves the participation of Kenyon College employees, students or alumni and relates only to the specific site or area such as the department, program, faculty, employee group, and
- results tend to be local to Kenyon College such that they are not generally available for public release outside the institution; however, in some instances, dissemination or publication may mean the results are shared at a conference or other public means or with an accrediting body. When allowed, only aggregate/group information may be shared, not individual records. Results should include a statement to the effect of: ‘This information was collected for the purpose of improving service.’ A statement of this nature is important as it explicitly details how the publication and the associated data have been used to improve service delivery or to evaluate something internally to an organization.
When used exclusively for assessment, management, or improvement purposes the following data collection activities may not be considered research and/or may not require continued ethics review, provided there is no element of research:
- quality assurance and improvement (QA/QI) projects, (may be research, IRB reviews)
- performance reviews, (not research, no IRB review)
- testing related to assessing the performance of employees or students within normal educational or employment requirement (not research, no IRB review)
The last two activities are generally administered in the ordinary course of the operation of the organization where participation is required by employees or students, for example, performance appraisals and student course evaluations. The results or findings from these activities are not generally available for public release outside the institution.
In contrast, research consists of a systematic investigation that is designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge, the results of which are to be shared with both individuals associated with and individuals not associated with the investigation.
Although some of the activities above may be exempt from continued research ethics review, it is expected that the project be conducted professionally and ethically:
- protecting the interests of the participants, from bodily harm to psychological harm to cultural integrity,
- respecting free and informed consent so participation is voluntary and there is no undue exercise of power of authority or undue influence, and
- respecting privacy and confidentiality so, for example, participants’ decision to participate and their data or information are not identified without their consent.
If you are uncertain if your project qualifies as a QA/QI project please contact the IRB Administrator.
Surveys, Online
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.
Administrators who think that their project may fall into the Exempt Review Category may use the IRB Administrator's Request for Guidance form available on the IRB Forms page