Professional Obligations Of Faculty

C4 Ethical Responsibilities

1. Animal Care and Use

   
   

   Hope College policy and federal law require a review of projects for humane treatment and judicious and safe use of vertebrate animals. At Hope College, the review is conducted by the Animal Care and Use Committee (ACUC) from which principal investigators and course instructors must obtain approval from before initiating any research, testing or instructional project involving the use of vertebrate animals. The U.S. Public Health Service requires verification of such approval within 60 days after submission of a grant application or proposal. ACUC's principal areas of concern are housing and husbandry, health status of animals, veterinary medical care, measures to minimize pain or discomfort, and the adequacy of training or experience of the personnel using the animals. The Committee does not review projects for scientific merit except as the question of merit bears on humane treatment or safe use of animals.
   

    

   ACUC maintains an information file on anesthetic, analgesic and tranquilizer agents, laws and standards, and other aspects of the humane care and use of animals.  The USPHS Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals is available from ACUC on request.  Consultation or assistance on these matters is available from the chairperson of ACUC or the Dean for the Natural Sciences.



2. Use of Human Subjects

   
   

   Hope College is committed to the ethical treatment of all human participants in research conducted by its faculty, staff, and students.  The Human Subjects Review Board (HSRB) is responsible to review all research done under the auspices of the College and to ensure that, in each project, human participants are treated in a just and ethical manner.  Hope College complies with the regulations of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services for the Protection of Human Research Subjects (Part 46 of Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as amended) and with the principles set forth in the Report of the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research, entitled "Ethical Principles and Guidelines for the Protection of Human Subjects of Research" (the “Belmont Report").  Copies of both documents are available in the offices of the Carl Frost Center for Social Science Research.  The three basic principles of the Belmont Report are respect for persons (acknowledging autonomy and protecting those with diminished autonomy), beneficence (maximizing possible benefits while minimizing possible harm), and justice (sharing equitably the burdens and benefits in the population).  For each research project conducted at Hope College, the HSRB is responsible to ensure that:

   
   
   1. Any costs and risks to participants are so outweighed by the sum of the benefit to the participants and the importance of the knowledge to be gained as to warrant approval of the proposed project.
   
   
   2. The rights and welfare of all participants will be adequately protected.
   
   
   3. Informed consent will be obtained from all participants in accordance with HSRB guidelines.
   
   
   4. On-going projects will be reviewed at timely intervals, (not less than once a year).
      
      

   The HSRB shall have jurisdiction over the collection and analysis of data from projects that utilize human participants and are intended primarily for research purposes. Projects done primarily for pedagogical or administrative purposes do not require prior HSRB approval, but they may be submitted to the HSRB at the discretion of the project director.

   HSRB website

3. Research Misconduct Policy

Hope College expects all faculty, staff, and students to maintain the highest standards of conduct in pursuing research activities. Any form of research misconduct is contrary to the principles upon which Hope College was founded and adversely affects the reputation of all individuals in the Hope community.

The purpose of this policy statement is to inform those participating in research activities of both the College's and funding (private and public) agencies' research misconduct policies, to identify general types of research misconduct, and to set in place mechanisms to deal with alleged violations of these principles. Applicable law, regulations and requirements by the research sponsor shall include, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, current regulations appearing in the Code of Federal Regulations at 42 CFR 50.101-.105 (1989) and 45 CFR 689.1-.9 (1991), as hereafter amended in 1998, followed by a second revision in 2003. In 2005, the federal government issued a revised version of its research regulations pertaining to research misconduct, 42 CFR Parts 50 and 93 (http://ori.hhs.gov/documents/FR_Doc_05-9643.shtml).

The Research Misconduct Policy can be found in its entirety on the Human Resources policies website.

4. Time and Effort Reporting Policy

The federal Office of Management and Budget requires Hope College to document time and effort spent on externally sponsored activities. The system is an after-the-fact activity process, under which the distribution of salaries and wages by Hope College will be supported by activity reports as described in the Time and Effort Reporting Policy, which can be found in its entirety on the Human Resources policies website.

5. Policy for Providing Training in Ethics and Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)

Faculty and staff who receive federal funding to conduct research or to supervise student researchers are responsible for ensuring all work is done in compliance with Hope College’s Research Misconduct Policy and Procedures and governmental policies (see below). Hope College’s policy for providing training on ethics and responsible conduct of research (RCR) can be found in its entirety on the Human Resources policies website.

In addition, the above 3 policies can also be found on the websites of the Provost’s Office, Arts & Humanities, Natural & Applied Sciences and Social Sciences divisions.