CONSENT FORM FOR HUMAN PARTICIPANTS IN RESEARCH
Project Title: UNC and Me: My Campus Experiences
Researchers: Laurie Claire Landrieu, MA; Christopher Otero MA; Shane Odiorne MA; Elizabeth Shmikler, MA; Candice Pedroza, MS
Phone Number: (970) 235-1647
Email: UNCandMe@unco.edu
Faculty Sponsors: Erin Yosai, PhD: erin.yosai@unco.edu; Achilles Bardos, PhD: achilles.bardos@unco.edu: 970-351-1629
Department: School Psychology
Purpose and Description: Thank you for your interest in our research project! This project involves understanding the current experience of UNC undergraduate and graduate students over the 2020-2022 school years. The purpose of this study is to improve student academic achievement by understanding the current mental health climate of students enrolled at the University of Northern Colorado (UNC). This study will specifically focus on how mental health has changed based on your experience of COVID-19 and the current socio-political climate. The results of this study will be used to work toward improving better student outcomes and gaining better understanding of the mental health and well-being of our students.
Participant Eligibility: You can participate in this study if you are over the age of 18 and are currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program at UNC. If you are a non-registered student, unenrolled at the university, or have recently graduated you cannot participate in this study. Participation will take place over the next two years during the regular Fall and Spring school semesters. You will also be asked to provide your email in a separate survey for further participation to track changes in your UNC experience over time. Online surveys will be sent out at the beginning of the Spring 2021 semester and last approximately 15-25 minutes. After the initial survey, a follow-up survey will be sent out in the Fall 2021 to ask questions about changes over the school year. Follow up surveys will continue with a sequence of progress-monitoring assessments in the middle of each semester over the next two years. Data will be collected through Qualtrics and participants will be designated an identification number associated with their information and survey answers. The identification number will be the only identifying information pairing that participant has with their answers. Questions in the survey will ask you to share your experiences with how you access UNC campus and student services, your experience with anxiety and depression, different coping strategies you use, and traumatic experiences you may have experienced prior to attending UNC.
Compensation: Upon completion of the initial survey, you will have the option to provide your email in a separate survey to be entered in to win a free, $300-valued tablet. Winners will receive the tablet at the end of the Spring 2022 semester. Your name will be entered in upon completion of each follow-up survey.
Benefits and Risks: There are no direct benefits from participation in this study. However, participating would provide a better understanding of how students are accessing services on campus and how they are coping with the current pandemic and social climate. This information could be used to help identify the needs of current and future students and to connect students with the relevant services. By answering the survey questions, participants may also have a better understanding of themselves.
Our research team foresees minimal risks associated with involvement in this survey. However, you may experience difficult emotions or feelings when completing the survey questions. If you feel uncomfortable, you can stop completing the survey. Additionally, if you experience lasting emotional distress from the survey questions, please reach out to the UNC counseling center or other local mental health services available to you. The phone number for the UNC counseling center is: (970) 351-2496.
Confidentiality: No names will be collected for this study and all surveys will be deidentified associated only to a number. Your survey responses will be stored on the secure Qualtrics server under a password-protected account accessible only by restricted personnel. This includes the study’s researchers which are the principal investigator, graduate research assistants who have completed the human subjects CITI Training, and faculty supervisors who oversee the research study. Survey responses will be used as data for research purposes only. Any report of the research that is made available to the public will not include information by which individual participants could be identified. Emails collected for receiving compensation will be through a survey different from your other responses and stored in separate encrypted files.
Steps will be taken to protect participants' confidentiality, it is possible that a confidentiality breach may occur and data could be stolen, lost, or otherwise compromised. In order to prevent a confidentiality breach, several steps to protect confidentiality will be taken.
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Please feel free to contact the researchers at 970-235-1647 if you have any questions or concerns about this research. Participation is voluntary. You may decide not to participate in this study. You may, alternatively, decide to stop and withdraw from participating at any point in time. Your decision will be respected and will not result in loss of benefits to which you are otherwise entitled. Having read the above and having had an opportunity to ask any questions, please proceed by clicking next if you consent to participate in this research. A copy of this form will be given to you to retain for future reference. If you have any concerns about your selection or treatment as a research participant, please contact Nicole Morse, Research Compliance Manager, Office of Research & Sponsored Programs, Kepner Hall, University of Northern Colorado Greeley, CO 80639; 970-351-1910.