It is not something that OSU research office developed. The legislation is interpreted by each institution, so that the interpretation of OSU Research office may be different from the interpretation at any other university. This legislation was enacted to protect participants from violation of their human rights. OSU's interpretation protects the OSU faculty and institution in compliance with federal regulations. What Extension does is not research.
Research is any activity which gathers information on individuals participating in any activity.
Research means a systematic investigation, any investigation designed to develop or contribute to knowledge or understanding about a question. It includes surveys, testing, program evaluation, interviews, and focus groups. Research for the purposes of IRB, doe not have to test against a hypothesis, provide or test a new device or a new drug, or implement an intervention in two comparison groups. All I'm doing is a survey. Exempt review covers things like surveys, classroom tests, and questionnaires.