STEP 4. OBTAIN SITE AUTHORIZATION FROM SELECTED RESEARCH SITE

General Procedures and Guidelines for Obtaining Site Authorization to Conduct Research

As part of the IRB application, researchers must provide official documentation they are authorized to collect data at their selected research site(s).  Click on the link below to access site authorization guidelines and letter templates.  

Obtaining GCU Site Authorization

Changes to GCU Site Authorization:

Effective January 2019, GCU will only consider site authorization requests from doctoral learners who 1) have a clear affiliation with GCU as a full-time or adjunct faculty member; 2) work for GCU in another full-time capacity; and 3) have approval from administrative leadership.  Please contact the IRB at [email protected] for questions or clarification.

Please Note:

• Learners who are affiliated with GCU per above can apply through CIRT. 
• Learners who have previously submitted a site authorization application in January or February 2019 may be considered.
• Learners who already have an approved GCU site authorization are grandfathered in, and the approval will remain in effect through completion of the study.

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Current Procedure:

Faculty and staff researchers and doctoral learners with GCU faculty/staff affiliation who wish to be considered for approval to use GCU as their research site must submit a GCU Site Authorization Application. Applications are reviewed based on the following:

• Does the research protocol meets ethical research standards?
• Does the study fit within GCU's institutional or specified college research agenda?
• Does the comply with administrative guidelines for data collection involving GCU students, faculty and staff?
• Is the proposed study design valid?
• What are the operational implications of the research study? 

Please note the following:

• GCU approves a limited number of site authorization applications 
• GCU will not approve studies that involve release of confidential student or faculty information
• Site approval is not guaranteed for learners or faculty
• GCU site authorization approval does not constitute IRB approval 

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