• Applications and appendices are to be submitted electronically to BUREC.  Hard copy and scanned applications, or applications submitted using old forms, will not be accepted.
• Only applicable appendices as indicated in the Application will be reviewed by BUREC.  Research grant proposals will not be considered as part of the ethics review.
• All appendices/files must be appropriately labelled, both in the document (title/header) and as the saved file name (e.g. Appendix A, Appendix B, etc.).
• Undergraduate students are limited to conducting research that is categorized as Minimal Risk.
• A Principal Investigator (PI) must demonstrate completion of the most current TCPS CORE Tutorial by providing a Certificate of Completion as an appendix with each new application.  More information can be found on the Policies page.

Minimal Risk Application:  A Minimal Risk Application may be submitted any time for Delegated Review which takes approximately 15-20 business days to complete.

Moderate/High Risk Application:  A Moderate/High Risk application must be submitted by the posted deadline and is reviewed by the full BUREC at its monthly meeting.

NOTE:  The onus is on the PI to apply for ethics approval in a timely manner that takes into consideration the desired start date of the project. Timely submission ensures that BUREC has ample opportunity to review and provide feedback to the PI and allows the PI time to respond and make any necessary revisions.  No recruitment or data collection may commence until a formal BUREC Certificate for Research Involving Humans is received.

If you are unsure as to whether or not your research project requires ethics approval, please complete the BUREC Exemption Inquiry Form and submit to BUREC.

Ethics Certification:  Ethics certification is valid for a period of five (5) years.  Continuing research ethics review is a requirement of the Tri-Council Policy Statement:  Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS2-2022) and an approved ethics submission is subject to ongoing monitoring throughout the life of the project.

Amendment Application:  An Amendment Application must be submitted for any changes a PI would like to make to their approved Ethics Applicaiton.  Changes must be approved by BUREC before implementation.

Renewal Application:  Projects continuing beyond five years require the submission and approval of a Renewal Application prior to the expiration of the Ethics Certificate.  Renewals are approved for one year and may be applied for annually, as needed.  A PI who conducts research after an Ethics Certificate expires and before a Renewal Certificate is issued is considered to be in non-compliance.

Reporting:  At minimum, continuing ethics review shall consist of an Annual Progress Report for the duration of the project and a Final Report at the end the project.  At the time of review, BUREC will determine if more frequent continual research ethics review is required in accordance with a proportionate approach to review and level of risk.  Failure to fulfill the continuing research ethics review requirements is considered an act of non-compliance and may result in the suspension of active ethics certifications, refusal to review and approve any new research ethics submissions, and/or others as outlined in the BUREC Non-Compliance Policies and Procedures.