The Research Ethics Board (REB) is governed by Durham College’s Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans policy. [PDF – 103 KB]

The Durham College Research Ethics Board oversees ethical screening and conducts a full review of research projects involving human participants. One board has been established to evaluate all research and ensure the research is conducted in a manner that is consistent with this policy.

Application and Submission Process

REB Applications are due two weeks prior to the scheduled REB meeting. The application must include all supporting documents (i.e. letter of information/consent, recruitment email, questionnaires, etc.), TCPS 2: CORE-2022 (Course on Research Ethics) certificates for all researchers listed on the application, Researcher Institutional Permission Request Form, approval letters from other institutions, etc.

Supporting documents should be clearly labelled. Templates are available for some supporting documents, please contact reb@durhamcollege.ca.

Applications may be deemed eligible for delegated review and may be reviewed prior to the scheduled meeting.

Applications with all signatures should be submitted to reb@durhamcollege.ca

As of September 1, 2022, all new applications submitted to the REB will require researchers to complete and submit their TCPS2 tutorial certificate from the updated TCPS 2: CORE-2022 (Course on Research Ethics). The revised module was released January 10, 2022.

Researcher Institutional Permission

All researchers planning to conduct research involving human participants and wishing to access Durham College faculty, staff, students, or resources, must first obtain institutional permission to conduct the research before applying for ethical approval from the Research Ethics Board (REB). Institutional permission is intended to ensure that the research does not unreasonably interfere with Durham College operations. Permission may or may not be granted on the basis of the project’s costs, effort, risk, impact on members of the college, and/or impact on institutional resources. Research ethics approval does not constitute institutional permission.

External researchers should complete the External Researcher Institutional Permission Request Form and submit it with the REB application. The REB coordinator will coordinate with the Office of the Vice-President, Academic or other Vice-President as appropriate on your behalf to facilitate the institutional permission process, prior to the ethical review of the REB application.

Internal researchers should contact reb@durhamcollege.ca for information about applying for institutional permission.

Applications already approved by another REB

If the REB application has already been approved by another REB, the Durham College REB will accept this application along with the Multi-Jurisdictional Research (MJR) form. The submission must also include the approval letter from the other board, the DC-REB-External-Researcher-Institutional-Permission form, TCPS2 tutorial certificates from all researchers, and all supporting documents. The REB may ask additional questions not provided on the other institutions application.

Change Request and Unanticipated Issues

Researchers are responsible for informing the REB of any changes or unanticipated issues to their study. The REB should be notified immediately of any changes or unanticipated issues.

Study Renewal and Completion

Researchers are responsible for ensuring their REB approval does not lapse. Expiry dates are noted on the REB approval letter sent to researchers. Researchers must submit the Study Renewal Form no less than 30 days prior to the expiry date. DC-REB-Study-Completion-form should be submitted on or before the expiry date.

2024-25 REB Meeting Schedule

 

Month	Meeting Date	Application Due Date
September	September 17, 2024	September 3, 2024
October	October 8, 2024	September 24, 2024
November	November 12, 2024	October 29, 2024
December	December 17, 2024	December 3, 2024
January	January 14, 2025	December 20, 2024
February	February 11, 2025	January 28, 2025
March	March 11, 2025	February 25, 2025
April	April 8, 2025	March 25, 2025
May	May 13, 2025	April 29, 2025
June	June 3, 2025	May 20, 2025

 

Only applications received at least two weeks prior to each meeting will be reviewed to allow sufficient time for review.

SUMMER

The REB does not operate in July or August. Applications, Study Renewal Forms, and Change Requests must be submitted by May 20, 2025 to be considered for review prior to the summer. All applications and forms submitted after this date may not be reviewed until the Board resumes in September.

REB Membership

REB Membership
Kay Corbier – Chair	Professor, Durham College
Laura Benninger	Professor, Durham College
Crystal Garvey	Professor, Durham College
Candi Thayer	Member knowledgeable in the law
Arlene de la Rocha	Professor, Durham College
Lynne Kennette	Professor, Durham College

Multi-site Ethics Review

Durham College is pleased to announce that our Research Ethics Board will now accept an Ontario-community-college-multi-site-application-form. This form is for researchers who are planning to conduct a study at more than one college in Ontario. Most Ontario colleges are participating in this initiative.

Expert Panel

Durham College has agreed to use the multi-college ethics review process to review minimal risk research projects that take place at multiple colleges.

Upon receiving a multi-college minimal risk application, the Durham College REB will forward it to the Expert Panel lead for review.

The Expert Panel will review the application and work with the researcher to make changes, if needed. Once the Expert Panel is satisfied with the application, they will issue the researcher with a letter of recommendation.

When the researcher submits his/her final application, accompanying documents, Researcher Institutional Form, TCPS2 certificate and the recommendation letter to the Durham College REB:

• One member of the Durham College REB, likely the chair, will review the application
• The chair determines ethical acceptability and, if appropriate, issues the certificate of ethical approval to the researcher or decides if the REB will complete a separate review
• All documents are stored and follow up procedures are carried out as per usual practice
• Each college at which the research is conducted continues to be responsible for research conducted under its auspices.