3.49 COMMITMENT OF TIME, CONFLICT OF INTEREST, CONSULTING, AND OTHER EMPLOYMENT
Effective: August 15, 2024
Purpose: The purposes of this policy are to: (i) educate about situations that generate conflicts; (ii) provide means for faculty and unclassified staff and the University to manage real or apparent conflicts; (iii) promote the best interests of students and others whose work depends on faculty direction; and (iv) describe situations that are prohibited.
Scope: This policy applies to University employees.
Responsible Office: Human Resources
Policy Statement: The Board of Regents encourages the Regents institutions to interact with business, industry, public and private foundations, and government agencies in order to assure the relevance of their missions of teaching, research and service; to provide for and facilitate the professional development of their faculty and unclassified staff; and to promote the rapid expansion and application of knowledge, gained through research, to the needs of Kansas, the region and the nation. With particular reference to such interaction, the Board of Regents considers it of utmost importance that University employees conduct their affairs so as to avoid or minimize conflicts of time commitments and conflicts of interest, and that the University must be prepared to respond appropriately when real or apparent conflicts arise.
General Principles
Conflict of Time Commitment
Attempts to balance University responsibilities with external activities, such as, but not limited to, consulting, public service or pro bono work, can result in real or apparent conflicts regarding commitment of time and effort. Whenever a faculty or staff member's external activities exceed reasonable time limits, or whenever an unclassified staff or faculty member's primary professional responsibility is not to the University, a conflict of time commitment exists.
Conflicts of commitment usually involve issues of time allocation. Faculty members and unclassified staff owe their primary professional responsibility to the University, and their primary commitment of time and intellectual effort should be to the education, service, research and scholarship missions of the University. Faculty and unclassified staff should maintain a presence on campus commensurate with their appointments. The specific responsibilities, position requirements, employment obligations and professional activities that constitute an appropriate and primary commitment of time will differ across schools and academic units, but said responsibilities, requirements, obligations and activities should be initially premised on a general understanding of full-time commitment for full-time faculty or unclassified staff to the University. Exceptions must be justified and shown to enhance the University’s mission.
Conflict of Interest
A conflict of interest occurs when there is a divergence between an individual's private, personal relationships or interests and their professional obligations to the University such that an independent observer might reasonably question whether the individual's professional actions or decisions are determined by considerations of personal benefit, gain or advantage.
A conflict of interest or the appearance of it depends on the situation, and not necessarily on the character or actions of the individual. The appearance of a conflict of interest can be as damaging or detrimental as an actual conflict. Thus, individuals are asked to report potential conflicts so that appearances can be separated from reality.
Potential conflicts of interest are not unusual in a modern university and must be addressed. For example, conflicts of interest can arise out of the fact that the University has as part of its mission the promotion of the public good by fostering the transfer of knowledge gained through University research and scholarship to the private sector. Two important means of accomplishing this institutional mission include consulting and the commercialization of technologies derived from research. It is appropriate that University personnel be rewarded for their participation in these activities through consulting fees and sharing in royalties resulting from the commercialization of their work. It is wrong, however, for an individual's actions or decisions made in the course of their University activities to be determined by considerations of personal financial gain. Such behavior calls into question the professional objectivity and ethics of the individual, and it also reflects negatively on the employing university. The University is an institution of public trust; faculty and unclassified staff must respect that status and conduct their affairs in ways that will not compromise the integrity of the University.
Except in a purely incidental way, University resources, including but not limited to, facilities, materials, personnel, or equipment may not be used in external activities unless written approval has been received in advance from the University’s President or their designee. Such permission shall be granted only when the use of University resources is determined to further the mission of the institution. When such permission is granted, the faculty member or unclassified staff member will make arrangements for reimbursement of the University for customarily priceable institutional materials, facilities or services used in the external activity. Such use may never be authorized if it violates the Regents policy on Sales of Products and Services.
Proprietary or other information confidential to the University may never be used in external activities unless written approval has been received in advance.
Faculty or unclassified staff may not involve University students, classified staff, unclassified staff or faculty in their external activities if such involvement is in any way coerced or in any way conflicts with the involved participants' required commitment of time to the University. For example, a student's grades or progress towards a degree may not be conditioned on participation.
Consulting and Other Employment
Consulting for Other State of Kansas Agencies
Consulting by faculty members and employees of institutions under the jurisdiction of the Board for another institution under the jurisdiction of the Board, as well as consultation for other state agencies, shall be approved in advance by the institution or agency seeking these services and approved by the employee's home institution. The home institution shall effect payment through the regular process and shall receive reimbursement through the interfund transfer process.
Consulting Outside the University
For members of the faculty, the University permits and, indeed encourages, a limited amount of personal, professional activity outside the faculty member's reasonably construed total professional responsibilities of employment by and for the University, provided such activity: (a) further develops the faculty member in a professional sense or serves the community, state, or nation in a professional capacity; (b) does not interfere with the faculty member's teaching, research and service to the University; and C) is consistent with the objectives of the University. Regular instructional service to other educational institutions is normally regarded as an inappropriate personal, professional activity. Without prior approval, faculty members on full-time appointments must not have significant outside managerial responsibilities nor act as principal investigators on sponsored projects that could be conducted at the University but instead are submitted and managed though another organization.
Other Employment
The Regents expect faculty and unclassified staff employed by the Regents institutions to give full professional effort to their assignments. It is, therefore, considered inappropriate to engage in gainful employment outside the University that is incompatible with the University’s institutional commitments. It is inappropriate to transact business for personal gain unrelated to the University from one's University office, or at times when it might interfere with commitments to the University. Participation in academic conferences, workshops and seminars does not usually constitute consulting or outside employment. However, organizing and operating such meetings for profit may be construed as consulting or outside employment as defined in this policy.
Reporting Requirements
Annual Reporting
As part of the annual appointment process, all faculty and unclassified staff with 100% time appointments must disclose to the University whether they or members of their immediate family (spouse and dependent children), personal household, or associate entities (e.g., corporations, partnerships or trusts) have consulting arrangements, significant financial or managerial interests, or employment in an outside entity whose financial or other interests would reasonably appear to be directly and significantly affected by their research or other University activities. For purposes of this policy, significant financial or managerial interests (or significant financial or other interests) means all holdings greater than $10,000 or more than 5% ownership in a company. Faculty and unclassified staff members who hold fractional appointments and who have potential or possible conflicts of time commitments or conflicts of interest, as defined above, are also required to make the disclosures. Failure to submit the required reporting form, as approved by the Council of Presidents, will result in denial of the opportunity to submit research proposals to external funding agencies until the form is submitted and may result in discipline in accordance with University procedures. When the University judges that the information submitted indicates that a conflict of time, commitment or interest does exist, the University may require that the faculty or unclassified staff member submit additional information and explanation regarding that conflict. (9-21-95)
Reporting Significant Ad Hoc Current or Prospective Conflicts As They OccurFaculty and unclassified staff must disclose on the form approved by the Council of Presidents to the academic unit’s administrative supervisor or dean or supervisor on an ad hoc basis current or prospective situations that may raise questions of conflict of commitment or interest, as soon as such situations become known to the faculty or unclassified staff member.
Reporting of Consulting
The faculty member must inform the chief academic officer, through the academic unit’s administrative supervisor or head and the dean, of all external personal, professional activities. For all such activities, except those single-occasion activities specified below, the faculty member must report in writing the proposed arrangements, and secure approval prior to engaging in the activities. Those personal, professional activities which occur within a single 24-hour period must be reported annually in writing as prescribed. For all activities concerned, the report should indicate the extent and nature of the activities, the amount of time to be spent in the activities, and the total amount of time spent or expected to be spent on all such outside activities during the current academic year.
Disposition of ReportsAll required reports shall be submitted in accordance with the University’s institutional requirements and shall be included in individual personnel files to be used for the determination of whether an individual is in compliance with this policy. Such reports will also be available to institutional research officers or administrators to permit certification and/or verification of compliance with federal regulations. The University must maintain these reports for a minimum of three (3) years.
Use of University Name
The Name of the Board of Regents, the University, or the Regents System may never be used as an endorsement of a faculty member or unclassified staff member's external activities without expressed and advance written approval of the University chief executive officer and/or the Board's Executive Director, as appropriate. Faculty members or unclassified staff members may list their institutional affiliation in professional books, articles and monographs they author or edit and in connection with professional workshops they conduct or presentations they make without securing approval.
Campus Policy Development and Enforcement
In situations in which the objectivity of a faculty or unclassified staff member could reasonably be questioned, or where apparent conflicts of interest exist, the University will establish an effective review mechanism to determine if a conflict of time or interest exists and to facilitate resolution of the conflict where possible, and to decide upon the appropriate sanctions when an unclassified staff or faculty member's activities have been determined to constitute a conflict. Such review mechanisms will include opportunity for appeal.
Definitions: All words and phrases shall be interpreted utilizing their plain meanings unless otherwise defined in University or Board of Regents policy or by statute or regulation.
Procedures: All procedures linked and related to the policies above shall have the full force and effect of policy if said procedures have first been properly approved by the University’s administrator in charge of Human Resources Procedures.
[Human Resources Procedures - coming soon]
Related Policy Information:
Compliance Statement
To ensure compliance with the Kansas Board of Regents' policy, Commitment of Time, Conflict of Interest, Consulting and Other Employment (20 April 1995), full-time faculty and unclassified professional staff must report to the University whether they or members of their immediate families, personal households, or associate entities have consulting arrangements, significant financial or managerial interests, or employments in outside entities whose financial or other interests would reasonably appear to be directly and significantly affected by their research or other University activities. Such real or apparent conflict of interest of time commitments must be reported annually and as changes occur. Individuals failing to comply with the University's reporting procedure will not be allowed to submit external grant applications until compliance is attained and may be subject to disciplinary action(s).
The Kansas Board of Regents' policy and Emporia State University's reporting procedure are included in the University Policy Manual. All full-time faculty and unclassified professional staff are expected to read and understand these documents. Individuals applying for external support for their research, education, or service projects will be required to specify on the Research and Grants Center proposal transmittal form that they are in compliance with the Kansas Board of Regents' policy and Emporia State University's reporting procedure.