School Research Placement
Procedures and Requirements | School Research Deadlines | Research Project Status Report Updates | Criminal Background Checks | Links to Additional Resources
OSURR now has a new email address.
Please send all communications relating to research in schools to OSURR@education.illinois.edu
PROCEDURES AND REQUIREMENTS
Individuals from the College of Education who are interested in conducting research with preschool, elementary, middle, or high school students, their parents and families, teachers, or other school personnel, should first obtain human subjects approval by completing and submitting the IRB-1 along with the completed copy of the School Research Form. The completed School Research Form is due on September 7th, 2012 for the fall semester and January 30, 2013 for the spring semester. These deadlines apply only to Champaign, Urbana, Decatur and Springfield schools. In addition, school district staff regularly provide us with a list of topics where they would find research most helpful. Reviewing this list may be useful for student researchers who would like to identify a focus area.
When completing the School Research Form, please remember that handwritten forms are not acceptable. Please submit forms electronically as an attachment to e-mail. A copy of this form is sent to the school district where the researcher proposes to implement the study so it should clearly represent the goals of the project to teachers and school administrators. When submitting the Research in Schools Form, all related and supporting documents, including the approved IRB-1, sample consent letters and copies of any surveys, questionnaires, or interview protocols that will be used in the research, must be submitted at that time as well. Staff at the OSURR office will make every effort to assist the researcher with finding the best school placement that meets the requirements of their particular project.
It is important to keep in mind that school district faculty and administrators are very busy professionals and that university researchers are guests in the school building. Researchers should be prepared to provide a summary of their research to school faculty along with another supportive activity such as a packet of relevant resources, or faculty workshop. Contributions such as this encourage goodwill between the University and school district staff along with ongoing professional development or educational support at the school level.
Anyone desiring to conduct research in K-12 schools must have a Criminal Background Check run before submitting a research proposal. Criminal Background Checks can be facilitated through the Office of School University Research Relations (OSURR). Please contact our office via email at OSURR@education.illinois.edu or visit OSURR at 38B Education, 217-333-3023.
Other resources and Information for Pre-K-12 Administration, Faculty and Parents
SCHOOL RESEARCH DEADLINES & FORM
Because of the large number of research project requests local public school districts receive each semester, there are established firm deadlines by which all School Research Forms must be received for Champaign, Urbana, and Decatur public school districts. They will not accept any research projects submitted directly to their administrative offices or schools; all forms must go through the Office of School-University Research Relations.
Deadlines for Champaign – Urbana, Springfield and Decatur:
Fall semester - Sept 7, 2012
Spring semester - Jan. 30, 2013
- Placement in all other school districts occurs throughout the year. Submit your application now.
RESEARCH PROJECT STATUS REPORT UPDATES
Please use the College of Education intranet to enter and update your research project status.
This report MUST be submitted in order to provide a summary for school districts and other organizations at the end of the academic semester or at other times when a status report is required. We have recently moved to an electronic reporting process that allows the researcher to provide relevant information directly to the project file in the OSURR database.
Instructions:
1. Log on to the College of Education Intranet using your active directory (AD) password.
2. Select (OSURR) Human Subjects Projects. Your list of approved projects should appear. If you do not see a project listed, email ed-osurrsupport@mx.uillinois.edu.
3. Select 'EDIT' on the far right of the project to view the record of what OSURR has on file.
4. Carefully review the project title, it MUST be an EXACT match to your IRB, if there has been a revision or you would like to make a title revision, enter the new title in the Feedback box at the bottom of the screen.
5. Follow the instructions in the form to review and submit updates for each section. You will need to: (1) select a Project Status; (2) provide a Project Update telling us about your reserach experience; (3) Anecdotal Information that may be helpful for district or school administrators; (4) Collaborative Research Response; (5) Research Benefits feedback; and (6) Services Provided to complete the Status Report Update.
6. If there is anything else regarding that specific project you want to communicate to OSURR, please use the Feedback box for that project instead of a separate email.
7. After entering all changes, press the 'SAVE' button to submit your Report. Further changes or updates can be submitted to OSURR at any time using the Feedback box.
CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECK
NEW BACKGROUND CHECK PROCESS
All individuals who wish to conduct research in preschools, elementary, middle, or high schools are must pass a fingerprint criminal background check which is facilitated by the Bureau of Educational Research and administered by Accurate Biometrics. Only faculty and students affiliated with the College of Education are eligible to take advantage of this service.
Faculty members, graduate students, and undergraduate research assistants, must come IN PERSON to the Bureau of Educational Research in Room 38 Education to secure an appointment time for the on-site service. A sign-up sheet will be available. Appointments will be handled in five-minute time blocks. This will be the only date during the Spring semester when an accurate Biometrics representative will be on-site at the College. We encourage you to take advantage of this service as background check requests that fall outside of this window will require researchers to visit the local Accurate Biometrics office.
Spring 2013 on-site date: TUESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2013 between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. at the College of Education in Room 192.
Please arrive on time to your pre-scheduled appointment.
What to bring to your appointment:
- Bring a valid, government issues picture ID (i.e., driver's license, State ID or passport). School IDs WILL NOT be accepted.
- Payment of $30.00 is required at the time of fingerprinting, and may be made via cash or money order made out to Accurate Biometrics. NO PERSONAL CHECKS WILL BE ACCEPTED. Although cash or money orders are preferred, credit card payments will be accepted with a mandatory $2.00 service fee assessment.
- You will be given a computer-generated receipt upon completion of the fingerprinting process. If a research grant will cover the cost of the background check, the researcher MUST first pay the fee to Accurate Biometrics and submit the receipt along with the approval of the Principal Investigator and FOAPAL number to which the fee will be charged to the College of Education Business Office for reimbursement.
- The results of the background check will be sent by the Illinois State Police directly to the agency/individual requesting it on the form you complete. At no time will Accurate Biometrics receive the criminal history response.
If you miss Accurate Biometrics’ on-site services, you will need to complete the form provided and visit their Champaign location (or another location most convenient to you). Please check their website often at www.accuratebiometrics.com for the most up-to date hours of operation & locations. Please contact the Bureau directly at 333-3022 for a UCIA form if you choose to go to an Accurate Biometrics location for a background check.
Hours of operation in the Champaign office vary but are currently: Mondays from 9-12:30 & 1:30-4:30PM and every other Thursday from 1-6PM.
If the researcher has had a background check done previously in the State of Illinois, and can provide the appropriate verification of the check, then it may be acceptable for research in schools. Please bring the documentation to the Bureau office for approval and entry into the Bureau system.
For faculty and graduate students who may be involved in multiple projects over the course of several years, the background check is typically required only once unless otherwise notified. If you are unsure if you have complied with this policy please check with the Bureau office where confidential records are maintained or contact our office with any questions.
LINKS TO ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Forms Needed for School Research
Other Resources and Information for Pre-K-12 Administration, Faculty and Parents
