Policy for Research Conducted by Persons External to the ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ Community
Policy Statement:
In general, it is the policy of ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ that access to educators, other employees, and students for research purposes by persons external to the University community is not permitted. ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ educators or other employees who are working on research projects as part of graduate or undergraduate requirements at other institutions are still considered internal to the community, and thus, are exempt from this policy.
Rationale:
- At any given point during the academic year, there are numerous institutional research needs, academic assessment needs, program and accreditation reviews, undergraduate honors projects, faculty research projects, and classroom based research assignments. We do not want to create a climate that overburdens our students or employees.
- Since external researchers have no official connection with the University, oversight and control are difficult to obtain, i.e., there is a problem of accountability.
- Such preclusion of outside researchers is fairly typical practice of most colleges and universities.
Exceptions to the policy: Access to educators, other employees, and students for research purposes on the part of external researchers will be granted under the following condition:
- Provost determination. If the Provost determines or is petitioned by a COE member that a project merits access to ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ employees or students, the Provost may approve the external research so long as a ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ educator liaison is identified to work with the external researcher and to ensure compliance with ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ research policies and procedures, including IRB requirements.
- ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ co-author. External researchers working together on a research project with a ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ educator are not subject to this policy. The regular procedure for Institutional Review Board (IRB) review, and coordination with campus assessment efforts are required.