How To Submit Proposals

The following steps will help ensure that your proposal gets timely consideration by the committee, and that we can easily comply with Federal requirements for record retention.

Step One

Download the latest version of the submission document to your machine. To do this, right click on the link in the previous sentence, and choose "Save Link As" or "Save Target As", depending on your web browser. You may choose to save the document anywhere, but make sure you know where that is. My Documents is convenient.

Please always download the latest version for every proposal you submit.

Step Two

Rename the document you just downloaded so the name includes the primary researcher's name. For example, "JayShaffstall -- Human Subjects Review.doc".

Step Three

Fill out the proposal. If this is your first time filling out an ACHS proposal, see the Guide To Filling Out A Proposal page for additional explanations of what you must enter.

Step Four

Include any related documentation. Examples include electronic versions of a survey, copies of agency permission letters, etc. If you have supporting material that is not available in electronic form, send one copy to the committee chair via campus mail, in addition to submitting your proposal via email. Please combine all documents into one overall document. This makes the review process quicker and easier. If you need to lable separate documents within the main document, you may do so (e.g. 'Appendix A' or 'Supplement 1')

Step Five

Sign your proposal. The researcher must type their name into the signature space in the proposal form. The advisor must also sign the proposal in the appropriate space.

Step Six

Submit the proposal. Students should email their proposal and related documentation to their research advisor, who will submit it to the ACHS on their behalf.

Advisors and faculty, to submit proposals, attach the proposal document and all related files to an email and send to achs@muskingum.edu. Make the subject of the email the same as the title of the proposal document (e.g. ""JayShaffstall -- Human Subjects Review ").

Step Seven

Wait. The committee typically either approves or provides feedback on proposals the week following its submission, provided it was submitted by the deadline for the week (see the Frequently Asked Questions for the current semester's deadline). If changes are required, the committe will detail the changes needed and you can resubmit the proposal.

During periods of heavy submissions, proposal responses will be delayed. To avoid this, submit your proposal early, before the rush.