The Consortium of Social Science Associations (COSSA) (of which ASA is a governing member), in conjunction with the American Educational Research Association (AERA) and the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research, submitted comments on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for the Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects or the “Common Rule.” Overall, the comments are supportive of the proposed changes affecting the social and behavioral sciences, but the letter “notes areas where some clarifications could enhance the proposed revision to the Common Rule.” The letter states, “Although, as we will point out, there are areas where the proposed rule changes still require considerable work in their detail, there are major and substantial improvements that should not be delayed or deferred even if it is determinedthat some issues require further analysis before some rule changes can be made…”

With the window for public comment closed, the Office of Human Research Protections will review all submitted comments and release a final rule. However, if the pace of the Common Rule revision process thus far is any indication, it will likely be several months before we see a final rule.