UNLV was recently awarded accreditation by the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs (AAHRPP). The announcement was made at the December meeting of its Council on Accreditation.
The university has a robust research program that engages faculty, postdoctoral researchers, graduate students, and undergraduate students across 17 colleges and schools. This accreditation recognizes UNLV’s expertise and proficiency in the execution of human subjects research as well as the university’s ability to meet AAHRPP’s rigorous standards. It is expected to be a helpful credential for UNLV as it pursues new research funding opportunities.
In the last decade, UNLV’s human subjects research has grown, with the number of institutional review board protocols reviewed to protect human subjects participating in research projects up 20 percent. With the 2017 addition of the UNLV School of Medicine and new clinical research studies that will emerge from the school, these numbers are expected to escalate even more dramatically.
AAHRPP promotes high-quality, ethically sound research through an accreditation process that helps organizations worldwide strengthen their human research protection programs.
An independent, nonprofit accrediting body, AAHRPP uses a voluntary, peer-driven, educational model to ensure that human research protection programs meet rigorous standards for quality and protection. To earn accreditation, organizations must provide tangible evidence – through policies, procedures, and practices – of their commitment to scientifically and ethically sound research and to continuous improvement.
As the "gold seal," AAHRPP accreditation offers assurances to research participants, researchers, sponsors, government regulators, and the general public that human research protection programs are focused first and foremost on excellence.
UNLV is rising among the nation's top public research institutions, recently earning a place among the top three percent of all U.S. universities by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.
