A New Exempt Application form to Reduce Burden

We’ve worked hard to revise our Exempt Application form in order to address areas that frequently require additional clarity during review. The new form is shorter, more to the point, and requires less long-form responses. It is our hope that this makes it easier to submit for and obtain an Exemption determination. Changes were made by identifying common issues in submissions and re-considering redundant sections required to make exemption determination.

Changes include:

• Addition of new resources to help determine if the project is exempt
• A streamlined protocol information section.
• Removal of revision history.
• Clearer language regarding dual appointments.
• Clearer language regarding expectations for NU researchers and non-NU collaborators.
• Removal of information required in the research summary.
• Streamlined Participant Information section to require less information.
• Removal of required information relating to screening.
• Streamlined Study Procedure section to eliminate unneeded fields.
• Streamlined Participant Information section with clearer instructions.
• Streamlined Risks section to eliminate unneeded fields.
• Clearer instructions for the Confidentiality and Privacy section.
• Additional instructions to ensure compliance with non-IRB NU policy regarding data storage.
• Removal of required information related to future uses of data.
• Addition of a checklist to help investigators know what to submit with initial protocols.

The new Exempt form is live and available on our Forms page. Please note that we can still accept and review submissions using the old exempt form, if needed.