At Rhodes University, the ethical conduct of research is a high priority. Ethical research is promoted as part of research training and supervision in Higher Degrees review processes, short courses for staff and students, and engagements with national experts. 

In addition, Rhodes has adopted the Department of Health’s research Principals, Processes and Structures (DoH, 2015) accredited by the National Health Research Ethics Council (NHREC).

There are four committees at Rhodes to provide ethical clearance for research by students and staff:

• the Animal Research Ethics Committee;
• the Education Faculty Research Ethics Committee for low-risk studies conducted in the Education Faculty;
• the Humanities Faculty Research Ethics Committee for low-risk studies conducted in the Humanities Faculty;
• the Human Research Ethics Committee for all other studies involving human participants.

Each of the RECs has an online application system on ERAS, and applicants should make sure they apply through the correct form. 

For overall deliberations on and support for research ethics, the Rhodes University Research Ethics Forum (RUREF) meets four times a year.

All these committees are under the auspices of the Research Office. Within the Research Office, an Ethics Coordinator is available to manage the system and support applicants. RUREF, in turn, supports the coordinator and RECs on strategic matters.