Compliance Policies

Federal regulations (42 CFR Part 50 Subpart F) aim to promote objectivity in research by establishing standards that provide a reasonable expectation that the design, conduct, and reporting of research funded by federal grants will be free from bias resulting from Investigator financial conflicts of interest.

SSU has established a SSU FCOI Policy that conforms to these regulations.

Per the SSU policy, each SSU investigator who seeks to conduct research funded under applicable agencies (HHS, NSF, etc.) must:

• Prior to submission of a proposal to the funding agency, as required, submit the  FCOI disclosure form to OSRA along with the Approval Form
• As required, complete training on FCOI and submit a certificate of completion to OSRA, either:
  • NIH COI Training, or
  • CITI service FCOI module
• Each year of funding, submit updated FCOI disclosure form to OSRA.

SSU employees & students have access to the following CITI modules through SSU’s subscription.

• Responsible Conduct of Research
• Essentials of Grant Proposal Development (new beginning May 2019)
• Conflicts of Interest
• Human Subjects Research
• Laboratory Animal Welfare
• Biosafety/Biosecurity
• Good Clinical Practice
• Health Information Privacy & Security (HIPS)

Register or log into CITI here

Governing Regulations:
In accordance with the NIH Guidelines for Research Involving Recombinant or Synthetic Nucleic Acid Molecules, Savannah State University (SSU) has established an Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC).

Purpose/Mission:
The mission of the SSU IBC is to oversee and monitor the control of biohazards associated with the use of microbiological agents and their vectors and to thereby protect the interests of the SSU community with respect to public health and protection of the environment.

The IBC is responsible for overseeing SSU projects that involve, but are not limited to, recombinant DNA, RNAi, pathogens, human materials and other potentially infectious material, as well as transgenic animals.

Protocol for SSU IBC Review & Approval:
All faculty at SSU who conduct projects involving recombinant DNA, RNAi, pathogens, human materials, and other potentially infectious material are required to obtain approval from the SSU IBC prior to initiating their projects.

The SSU Institutional Biosafety Committee reviews and approves these requests to use biohazardous chemicals and materials in research, approves handling and waste disposal protocols, and assesses risks to laboratory workers.

For more information or to submit an application for IBC approval, please contact the SSU IBC chair, Dr. Takayuki Nitta, (912) 358-4459, [email protected].

Savannah State University (SSU) has an established Institutional Review Board (IRB) responsible for reviewing proposed research involving human subjects to ensure that the rights and welfare of the subjects are protected.

Projects involving human subjects at SSU must have IRB approval prior to project initiation.

Research involving human subjects falls under the oversight of the Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP). An overview of federal law and regulations governing human subjects research and SSU guidelines is provided.

Before Research Can Begin:

• Faculty, staff or students who plan to conduct research involving human subjects (including surveys) must submit a request for IRB review and obtain approval by the IRB for the proposed research before the research can be initiated.
• Any research conducted before IRB approval is obtained will not be approved.
• All investigators involved in the research project must also complete the Human Subjects Research (HSR) module of the CITI training service.

Required Application Package
To request a review of the proposed research involving human subjects, the investigator must submit the following to [email protected]
1. IRB Application: Download and send the electronic form to the IRB along with accompanying documentation
2. Summary of proposed research protocol – attach to Request for IRB review form
3. Proposed Testing/Survey instrument(s) – attach to Request for IRB review form
4. Certificate of completion of Human Subjects Research module of CITI – attach to Request for IRB review form
5. Consent Form
6. Recruitment flyer and letter of support, as applicable

Faculty requesting a Class Waiver for training students to conduct research\
Faculty who want to teach how research is conducted using supervised research projects as a means of contributing to the students’ individual knowledge and training in a particular academic discipline do not require Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval for each student. Instead, the instructor of the class will need to complete the Class Waiver Form.

Specifically, if the project is not intended to contribute to advances in generalizable knowledge, nor are the results of such activities to be published, presented or archived, then the research does not need IRB approval. To be eligible for the class waiver, the applications must fit the following requirements.
1. No publication and no presentation outside of the course for which the research is being done
2. No use of minors or vulnerable populations (prisoners, non-English-speaking persons, persons lacking the capacity to give informed consent)
3. The risk is not more than “minimal” Minimal risk is when “the probability and magnitude of harm or discomfort in the research are not greater in and of themselves than those ordinarily encountered in daily life or during the performance of routine physical or psychological examinations or tests”
4. No use of deception
5. No videotaping or audio recording
6. All students and faculty in the course must complete and submit human subjects research training (CITI training) completion report

**Please note: if students or faculty wish to present their research in a formal capacity (outside of the classroom) they will need to complete an IRB application for research.

Please download this Class Waiver Form and submit to [email protected] along with accompanying documentation as applicable.

As a condition of funding, federal agencies, including NIH and NSF, require RCR instruction for all trainees and faculty whose research and training activities are funded by the federal agency. Each institution that applies for financial assistance from these agencies must have a plan in place to provide appropriate training and oversight in the responsible and ethical conduct of research. Please see federal regulations at:

NIH NOT-OD-10-019 Requirements for RCR Instruction
NSF Requirements for RCR Instruction

SSU RCR Training Plan
SSU has an established RCR training plan which conforms with these federal regulations.
Read more here.

A training resource within SSU’s training plan is the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) web-based training program. SSU’s Office of Sponsored Research Administration  subscribes to the CITI service. This on-line training service is available to all SSU faculty, staff, and students.

For basic Instructions on how to register:
Instructions on how to access CITI service.

To access, register, and complete the on-line modules at the CITI website, go to:

Access CITI service here

Users should complete the relevant training modules for their area of research.

Once completed, the user may obtain a certificate of completion, which can be added to the student’s individual training record or resume or used for class credit if completed as part of a curriculum requirement.

Additional NIH training resources (includes case studies)
https://oir.nih.gov/sourcebook/ethical-conduct/responsible-conduct-research-training/resources-training-directors