Terms — what the desk does, what stays yours, and how the fee works

capellairb.com is an independent consultation practice. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Capella University, and nobody here has any role in the university's Institutional Review Board. We handle the entire IRB process end to end for a fixed fee quoted in writing after a free application review; the research itself stays yours, the board's decision is always its own, and no outcome, review category or date is ever promised. Using the site or the desk means accepting the terms below.

Who we are, and who we are not

The desk is an independent consultation practice serving nursing and health-care professionals in Capella University programs. Capella and FlexPath are trademarks of their respective owner, used here only to describe the programs whose IRB process we consult on. The Institutional Review Board discussed on this site is Capella University's own board; every review category and every approval decision rests with it alone. The practice behind this site consults across enrollment, program choice, coursework and practicum as well, under its own names.

What the service is

We handle the IRB process: the determination of which review path a project is on, the application file and every document in it, the submission, and every reply to the board — revision responses, amendments, continuing review — until approval. The three packages and what each contains are described on the pricing page; the written quote for your file states which package you have chosen and exactly what it covers.

What stays yours, always

The research. The study, the recruitment, the data, the analysis and the findings are yours. We do not conduct research, recruit participants, collect data or author findings, and nothing we prepare is a substitute for any of those.
The truth of the file. Every statement in an application we draft describes your study as you have described it to us. You confirm that each statement is true before it is filed, you sign what must be signed by the investigator, and you remain the investigator of record with the board.
Your responsibilities to your program. Where Capella's current handbook or IRB portal requires the submission to come from your own account, or requires a faculty sign-off, those steps are yours to take; we prepare everything and complete them with you.

What is never promised

An outcome, a review category, or a date. Capella's board decides what it decides on its own schedule, and we do not invent durations. What we undertake is the work: a file that says one thing everywhere, claims the path it is actually on, carries every document the board will look for, and answers every return point by point.

The free application review

The review costs nothing and commits you to nothing. A consultant reads where your project stands and writes back with what the file needs. That reading is general guidance on your file; it is not a submission, a determination by any board, or legal advice. You may act on it yourself, bring the work to us, or do nothing with it.

The quote and the fee

Every package is quoted in writing, as one fixed fee, after the free review and before anything is drafted or filed.
Nothing is billed by the hour. A board return does not add to the fee of the package that includes returns.
The quote changes only if the file changes — another site, a different path than the one first claimed — and a revised figure is put in writing before work continues.
Payment terms, and what happens if you stop the work part-way, are stated in the written quote. Where the quote is silent, work completed to the point you stop is charged in proportion to the package and nothing further is owed.
A seasonal offer, if claimed, is applied to the fixed fee when it is quoted — one offer per project.

Confidentiality

What you send us is read by the consultants working on your file and nobody else, kept as described on the privacy page, and never shared with Capella University or its board except as the application you ask us to submit. We will not name you, your site or your study on this site or anywhere else without your written permission; the testimonials carry shortened names at the request of the professionals who gave them.

The content of this site

The pages and articles on capellairb.com are general information about the Capella IRB process, written from the desk's experience of preparing files. They are not legal advice, not a statement of Capella University's policy, and not a substitute for Capella's current handbook or IRB portal, which govern whenever they and this site differ. We keep the content current to the best of our reading and say "Capella's current handbook or IRB portal" wherever a detail can change between terms.

Limits

The desk's responsibility is for the work it undertakes in the written quote, to the value of the fee paid for it. We are not responsible for the board's decisions, for delays in the board's review, for the actions of any site or signatory, or for the consequences of information given to us that was not accurate. Nothing here limits any responsibility that the law does not permit us to limit.

Changes

These terms may change; the date at the top moves when they do, and the terms in force when a quote is accepted govern that quote. Questions about any of this go to hello@capellairb.com.