About Vice-Principal ResearchUniversity Animal Care Committee Standard Operating Procedure
Document No: UACC 1.9
Subject: Pedagogical Merit
Date Issued: September 27, 2023
Revision: Original
Location: Queen’s University
Purpose: The purpose of this Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) is to describe the procedures surrounding peer-review for pedagogical merit of animal use protocols involving live animals for teaching or training.
1. Introduction and Definitions:
To justify animal use in teaching/training, the UACC must be satisfied that a project has pedagogical merit.
Abbreviations:
- University Animal Care Committee UACC
- Principal Investigator PI
- Animal Use Protocol AUP
- Canadian Council on Animal Care CCAC
2. Procedures:
Teaching/training protocols must be reviewed for pedagogical merit. The course instructor must provide information on the proposed teaching or training as outlined in Appendix 1: Pedagogical Merit Review Form or Appendix 1a: Expedited Pedagogical Merit Review Form. This information, along with the animal use protocol (when feasible), will be provided to the reviewers to facilitate review.
Prior to UACC review of the AUP, the completed Pedagogical Merit Review Form (see Appendix 1) is sent to suitable reviewers as selected by staff within the Office of the Vice-Principal Research. Reviewers complete a comment form (see Appendix 2: Pedagogical Merit Reviewer Comment Form or Appendix 2a: Expedited Pedagogical Merit Reviewer Comment Form), that includes a declaration of their qualification to review the proposal and the relationship between the reviewer and the Principal Investigator to ensure an arm’s length review.
Reviewer comments and recommendations are returned to the UACC Coordinator, who will request additional information from the investigator if needed. If two reviews are received and in agreement, the recommendation will stand. For expedited pedagogical merit review, only one review is required. At this point, the proposal is either rejected or accepted. An additional review may be sought when two reviews offer different recommendations. Full protocol approval by the UACC is contingent upon pedagogical merit. Reviews are documented and must contain sufficient information to support reviewer conclusions.
| Date | New Version |
|---|---|
| 09/27/2023 | Created and Approved |