We (University of Wisconsin-River Falls) are a public regional
comprehensive university, but we are not on quarters.

Our IRB uses three categories of review: exempted, expedited, and full
board.  The project where nursing students are surveying others would
probably be exempted under our system (unless they are surveying a
protected class of persons, e.g. minors)--that means that the IRB
administrator (me) can approve it.  I usually do it within a day.  If there is
slightly more risk, an expedited review (administrator plus chair) is
sometimes appropriate, that takes 3 days.  Full board review can take up
to a month, depending on timing of meetings.  Our IRB handles fewer
than ten full-board reviews per semester.

I believe it is instructive for students to go through the IRB
process--writing a protocol, designing an informed consent form, etc.  I
have sometimes spoken before classes on the IRB and its functions and
then fielded protocols from all members.  Not often, though.  We also
have a category for classroom experiments/demonstrations, where the
instructor asks for approval for a protocol covering the entire class'
activities.

Bill Campbell
UW-River Falls
xxxxxx@uwrf.edu