Review and Approval Process
In accordance with the Tri-Council Policy Statement, the REBs use a proportionate approach when reviewing ethics applications, whereby the level of review depends on the foreseeable level of risk to participants. Applications that have a lower risk level will receive less scrutiny than applications with a higher risk level.
Initial feedback from the REB varies depending on the level of ethics review and the response time of the applicant…
- Minimal risk reviews, course clearances and administrative reviews take two to three weeks on average; whereas,
- Full REB reviews take four to six weeks.
During busy periods the review time may be longer. If you have not heard from us during this time, we encourage you to follow up at with a Research Ethics and Compliance Coordinator.
Once your proposal has been reviewed, you will be notified by e-mail. Your application will be assigned one of the following recommendations:
- accept as is
- minor revisions
- major revisions
- refusal
If you are told that your ethics application needs minor or major revisions, you will receive feedback from the reviewers as to what needs to be revised in your application.
Once you have made the revisions (underlining and bolding any changes on your application), send the revised application back by email (for CUREB-A applications) or through the CuResearch platform (for CUREB-B applications). Once re-submitted, allow a minimum of one working week for feedback on the revisions.