Focus on AAHRPP Accreditation

UC implemented a wonderful road-map to the future with its UC|21 vision and plan. Late this summer I became engaged in a very important part of realizing the vision for research and scholarship endeavors. Early in 2005, UC submitted its preliminary application to the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs (AAHRPP). We are now writing our final application to AAHRPP, bringing us to the threshold of having our ethical standards in research with human subjects recognized as outstanding. Accreditation of human subjects programs will bring increased public confidence and mark UC as distinctive among institutions that seek and aspects of the human condition.

For those of you wondering how AAHRPP accreditation will benefit McMicken College, I think an important point is recognition of the contributions many of you and your colleagues, both faculty and students, make in conducting inquiries into human behavior, interaction, and thought with the deepest respect for research participants and for ethical standards in research. I have the good fortune of serving as the current chair of UC’s social and behavioral sciences Institutional Review Board (IRB-S) during this time in which we examine and renew our commitment to high standards in human subjects research.

I also have the good fortune of working with IRB-S members and investigators from A&S engaged in a wide array of studies. Each member of the IRB and each investigator proposing and undertaking human subjects scholarship spends focused effort in examining the conduct of that research. While at times the process of thinking through and communicating the intricate levels of attention to preserving human autonomy, serving justice, and providing beneficence to the participants in our research seems arduous, faculty and students in McMicken “get it.”

Investigators routinely use the resources of their professional organizations to guide them in ethical considerations for their work. By being actively engaged with their research organizations and professional standards, they add an important dimension to UC’s AAHRPP accreditation quest. There isn’t a fill-in box on the application form that provides an opportunity to recognize these underlying contributions directly, but the standing integrity of your work makes scrutiny a time to boast rather than a time to worry.

The AAHRPP process and UC’s quest for accreditation bring benefits beyond the recognition of our high standards of scholarship. They provide us the opportunity to invest in additional support for investigators as well. UC will launch a top-of-the-line educational program for all those involved with human subjects and will compose “courses” for researchers served by both the social/behavioral and the medical IRBs. These courses, available on-line, will be announced shortly.

They are developed from study modules accessible through the Collaborative IRB Training Initiative (CITI). CITI, housed at the University of Miami, is the leader is providing educational materials on ethical standards in the protection of human subjects. Through AAHRPP the IRBs and our investigators will also gain access to additional guidance and interpretations of regulations governing our research activities. A national forum for discussion can engage us actively in examining the best way to achieve the goals of our scholarship and serve high ethical standards.

My message here is also one of gratitude. Through the sincere efforts of many in McMicken, UC has much to contribute. And, within a new environment of recognition for our outstanding human subjects research, we have opportunities and support to enhance our inquiries into human interaction, thought, and behavior.