system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
IRB Denied My Undergrad Research

I attend a private college in Texas, and was just told they were going to deny my research proposal. Why, you might ask? Because the "nature of my study might put the school in a bad light".

My research was over how students beliefs about social and religious topics (gay marriage, abortion, baptism, women in leadership, etc) differed from their denominations. My school is Baptist, and they are saying this research could damage the publics view of the school, even though it's not going to be published anywhere!

Can they do this? I know it is a private institution but is this something they can actually do?
gpt
I mean, the IRB *can* do whatever they want. You might want to review the IRB's web page for their purpose. If they have listed that they can review the potential outcomes of the study as a part of their process, then they have every right to do so. 

However, in general, institutional IRBs generally are in place to review projects and ensure they uphold the requirements of federal guidelines for human subjects protections. They sometimes overstep their boundaries by attempting to alter procedures or find reasons why they don't believe the research has scientific merit or practical application (which, unless it's specifically stated in the IRB protocol for your institution, isn't a valid reason to reject a proposal; that's the job of the person overseeing the research). 

As another commenter has stated, you can seek another institution to complete your research if you're specifically targeting students, as the IRB has control over their specific student population. You also have the option to appeal in most cases, but, again, you'll need to access your institution's IRB manual/webpage to determine if this is possible.