Class Waiver

What is a class waiver and when do I need it?

We recognize that a number of faculty at Hampshire include projects with human research participants as part of the course requirements. This hands-on experience is a critical component of our curriculum. A class waiver is recommended when:

Identifiable information (pdf) collected will be for class purposes only with no presentation or publication outside of class
research does not involve minors (unless in standard educational settings) and other vulnerable populations (e.g. developmentally or mentally disabled adults, prisoners, etc.)
research includes no more than minimal risk
research does not use deception
no audio or visual recording is involved (*a consent form is required and should be provided for by the faculty and submitted for review if any recordings are used).

Details for these requirements are described in the form (class project waiver form). Faculty are also required to be responsible for training their students in ethical practices surrounding research. One available resource is a short training on the ethics of human subjects research (CITI). You are responsible for reviewing and monitoring your students' work to ensure that it meets eligibility criteria.

Please note:

If your student projects do not require a class waiver or IRB approval, students may still need to obtain informed consent.
If after completing the project for class, a student decides to pursue the same methodology for research purposes (e.g., formal presentation, publication, or Div III), the student will need to submit a standard IRB application and will not be able to use the material collected for class in the actual project. If a more extended project is anticipated, an IRB application form (pdf) should be completed at the initiation of the project.