The UNC Policy Manual
300.2.2
Adopted 04/16/93
Amended 08/12/05
Amended 06/09/06
Amended 06/15/12*
The
Code of
the University of North Carolina affirms that the basic mission of the
faculty is "the transmission and advancement of knowledge and
understanding." Faculty employment entails the core responsibilities
of teaching, scholarly research and publication, and other professional service
to the institution and to society. Realization of those objectives is facilitated
and encouraged by certain distinctive characteristics of employment within an
academic community, which differs markedly from the conventional work-day and
work-week employment models in most business and industrial settings.
Faculty members pursue their specialized professional interests
in other contexts, collateral to their immediate University employment.
They hold memberships in and attend meetings of professional associations and
learned societies; they serve on review or advisory panels; they present
lectures, papers, concerts and exhibits; they participate in seminars and
conferences; they review and edit scholarly publications; and they participate in
accreditation reviews. Faculty and
non-faculty EPA employees (“Covered Employees”) have opportunities to use their
specialized competencies in secondary professional employment, as paid
consultants to public and private agencies, and thereby contribute to the
transfer and application of knowledge.
As relationships between Covered Employees and private industry,
federal and state governments, and nonprofit agencies have grown in number and
scope, there has been a corresponding increase in concern about conflicts of
interest and commitment. While these Covered Employees are encouraged to
engage in appropriate relationships with public and private agencies outside of
the University, there is a need for commonly understood principles and
corresponding procedures that will identify, address and manage potential
conflicts that would detract from or interfere with a Covered Employee’s
dedication of unbiased primary professional loyalty, time, and energy to
University teaching, research, and service.
All members of the University community are expected to avoid
conflicts of interest and conflicts of commitment that have the potential to
directly and significantly affect the University’s interests or compromise
their objectivity in carrying out their University Employment Responsibilities,
including research, service and teaching activities and administrative duties,
or otherwise compromise performance of University responsibilities, unless such
conflicts are disclosed, reviewed and appropriately managed in accordance with
the provisions of this Policy.
It is the policy of the University of North Carolina that
activities undertaken by its faculty, staff and students in furtherance of the
mission of the University shall be conducted in an ethical and transparent
manner consistent with federal and state law and university policy.
I. Definitions
A.
Conflict
of Interest
relates to situations in which financial or other personal considerations,
circumstances, or relationships may compromise, may involve the potential for
compromising, or may have the appearance of compromising a Covered Employee’s
objectivity in fulfilling their University duties or responsibilities,
including research, service and teaching activities and administrative duties. The bias that such conflicts may impart can
affect many University responsibilities, including decisions about personnel,
the purchase of equipment and other supplies, the selection of instructional
materials for classroom use, the collection, analysis and interpretation of
data, the sharing of research results, the choice of research protocols, the
use of statistical methods, and the mentoring and judgment of student work. A Covered Employee may have a conflict of
interest when he or she, or any member of that person's immediate family has a
personal financial interest in an activity that may affect decision making with
respect to his or her Employment Responsibilities. For the purposes of this Policy, a Covered
Person’s immediate family includes that person’s spouse and dependent children. While a Conflict of Interest may result from
nonfinancial interests or considerations, the overwhelming majority of
Conflicts of Interest result from a Financial Interest of a Covered Employee
who is in a position to make a supervisory, academic, or administrative
decision which may be compromised because of potential financial gain from a
Financial Interest.
B.
Financial Interest is defined as:
1.
Payment
for services to the Covered Employee not otherwise defined as institutional
salary (e.g., consulting fees, honoraria, paid authorship);
2.
Equity
or other ownership interest in a publicly or non-publicly traded entities (e.g.,
stock, stock options, or other ownership interest); or
3.
Intellectual
property rights and interests upon receipt of income related to such rights and
interest, held by the Covered Employee or members of his/her immediate family.
Income from investment vehicles, such as mutual funds or
retirement accounts, in which the Covered Employee or member of his/her
immediate family do not directly control the investment decisions and
intellectual property rights assigned to the Institution and agreements to
share in royalties related to such rights are excluded from the definition of
Financial Interest. Covered Employees
are required to disclose Financial Interests in a timely and accurate manner
consistent with the implementing policies of the Constituent Institutions.
C.
Conflict
of Commitment
relates to an individual's distribution of time and effort between obligations
to University employment and participation in other activities outside of
University employment. The latter may include such generally encouraged
extensions of professional expertise as professional consulting (i.e. External
Professional Activities for Pay). Such activities promote professional
development and enrich the individual's contributions to the institution, to
the profession, and to society. However, a conflict of commitment occurs
when the pursuit of such outside activities involves an inordinate investment
of time or is conducted at a time that interferes with the employee’s
fulfillment of University Employment Responsibilities.
D.
External
Professional Activities for Pay is defined as any activity that 1) is not included within one's
University employment responsibilities 2) is performed for any entity, public
or private, other than the University employer; 3) is undertaken for
compensation; and 4) is based upon the professional knowledge, experience and
abilities of the employee. Activities
for pay not involving such professional knowledge, experience and abilities are
not subject to the advance disclosure and approval requirements of Section III
of this policy, although they are subject to the basic requirement that outside
activities of any type must not result in the neglect of primary University
duties, creation of Conflicts of Interest, involve inappropriate uses of the
University name or resources, or include claims of University responsibility
for the activity. External activities
for pay of employees covered by the State Personnel Act are addressed in the
State Personnel Act, Section 3 Employment and Records, Secondary Employment.
E.
University
Employment Responsibilities include "Primary Duties" and "Secondary
Duties." Primary Duties consist of
assigned teaching, scholarship, research, institutional service requirements,
administrative duties and other assigned employment duties. Secondary
Duties may include professional affiliations and activities traditionally
undertaken by Covered Employees outside of the immediate University employment
context. Secondary Duties may or may not entail the receipt of honoraria,
remuneration (see additional regulations, UNC Policy Manual, 300.2.2.2
[R]) or the reimbursement of expenses, include membership in and service to
professional associations and learned societies; membership on professional
review or advisory panels; presentation of lectures, papers, concerts or
exhibits; participation in seminars and conferences; reviewing or editing
scholarly publications and books without receipt of compensation; and service
to accreditation bodies. These activities, which demonstrate active
participation in a profession are encouraged, provided they do not conflict or
interfere with the timely and effective performance of the individual's Primary
University Duties or University policies.
F. Covered Employee is defined as any
faculty or EPA non-faculty person employed by the University of North Carolina
or a Constituent Institution, an affiliated entity, or other agency or unit of
the University of North Carolina. The implementing policies of Constituent
Institutions may further define Covered Employee to include additional
classifications of personnel and students, which would further be considered
Covered Individuals.
G. Constituent
Institution, for the purposes of this policy, includes affiliated entities
of the University of North Carolina, General Administration, and units
associated with General Administration.
Affiliated entities and other units of General Administration may
implement Conflict of Interest policies consistent with this policy or adopt
the policy of one of the constituent institutions.
H. Department means an academic department, a
professional school without formally established departments, or any other
administrative unit designated by the chancellor of an institution or by
General Administration, for the purposes of implementing this policy. “Department
Head” refers to the person with supervisory responsibility for the Covered
Employee, whether in an academic or non-academic department.
I. Inappropriate use or exploitation of University
Resources means using any services, facilities, equipment, supplies or
personnel which members of the general public may not freely use for other than
the conduct of Institutional Responsibilities. A person engaged in
external professional activities for pay may not use University Resources in
the course and conduct of externally compensated activities, except as allowed
by the constituent institution’s implementing policies and other applicable
University policies. Under no
circumstances may any employee use the services of another employee during
University employment time to advance the externally compensated employee’s
professional activities for pay.
II. Conflicts of Interest
Constituent Institutions shall develop detailed implementing
policies and procedures that establish parameters of general applicability that
will permit their institution and their employees to recognize potential
Conflicts of Interest, and to institute basic procedures for disclosing
Financial Interests and managing potential or actual Conflicts of Interest.
Institutional policies shall require that a Covered Employee’s professional
activities and financial interests must be arranged to avoid circumstances that
do or may prevent or limit objectivity in the performance of University
Employment Responsibilities or that otherwise do or may adversely affect any
University interests. The implementing
policies and procedures of the Constituent Institutions will ensure compliance
with prevailing Federal regulations. Institutions
may develop separate policies to address specific federal and state
requirements. In the event federal
agencies or other external sponsors impose additional disclosure requirements
on Constituent Institutions, disclosure to the sponsor must also include
disclosure to the University.
A.
Avoiding
conflicts of interest
Each constituent institution
must adopt policies and procedures that:
1.
effectively
impart a clear understanding of permissible and impermissible conduct;
2.
provide
for disclosure of Financial Interests, review of disclosures in the context of
University Employment Responsibilities and processes to manage or mitigate
conflicts of interest;
3.
provide
for training of employees on its conflict of interest policy, the audience,
content and frequency of which will be determined by the Constituent
Institution’s implementing policies and procedures; and
4.
provide
for compliance with applicable federal regulations.
Critical
to the success of any program established to address Conflicts of Interest is
employee understanding of the potential problems, so that individuals are
equipped to avoid such conflicts on their own initiative. While in many situations the conflict of
interest would be obvious to all, in other situations the potential difficulty
would not be so apparent. Since concern
about Conflicts of Interest appropriately embraces situations in which there is
a potential for or appearance of conflict, as well as actual conflict, there
may be differing views about what is or is not a problematic activity or
affiliation. Thus, the faculty and
administration of each Constituent Institution must establish basic definitions
of activities and circumstances with a potential to create Conflicts of
Interest and then must ensure that all affected employees are fully informed,
on a regular and continuing basis, through training and distribution of
institutional policies and procedures on individual Conflicts of Interest and
Conflicts of Commitment.
Each
Constituent Institution must establish procedures that elicit information in a
timely manner about potential Conflicts of Interest related to the Covered
Employee’s University Employment Responsibilities. Designated administrative officials or
faculty, as defined by the Constituent Institution’s implementing policies and procedures
shall analyze the disclosed financial interest in the context of the Covered Employee’s
University Employment Responsibilities and decide whether the activity or
affiliation in question actually presents a Conflict of Interest and, if so,
what safeguards or remedial actions should be taken. Covered Employees shall be required to
supplement the information elicited by the Conflict of Interest questionnaire
at any time during the academic year when a new Financial Interest might entail
a Conflict of Interest. In each case a
designated administrative officer would provide a final ruling, subject to any
prescribed rights of appeal in the Constituent Institution’s implementing
policies and procedures.
In
combination, the University’s policy on Conflicts of Interest, the required
disclosure process, and publicity and training should assist all Covered
Employees avoid any difficulties recognizing and managing Conflicts of Interest.
Each
Constituent Institution may adopt additional related internal policies, procedures,
and guidelines consistent with this Policy.
The UNC Board of Governors’
Policy on Conflict of Interest and Commitment, UNC Policy Manual 300.2.2, is effective August 24, 2012.
Each
Constituent Institution shall submit to the President a copy of its
institutional policies and procedures on individual Conflicts of Interest,
including definitions of Conflicts of Interest, methods for publicizing the
policy and training Covered Employees on institutional definitions and
requirements, and procedures and questionnaires for disclosing relationships
and circumstances that may raise questions about Conflicts of Interest. Any substantial modifications of the
Constituent Institution policies and procedures for individual Conflicts of
Interest should also be forwarded to the President after approval by the
Constituent Institution.
III. Conflicts of Commitment
Questions about conflict of commitment are more easily recognized
and resolved than questions about Conflicts of Interests. Although full-time faculty and other
non-faculty EPA employment is not amenable to precise, time-clock analysis and
monitoring, administrators at the department and school levels regularly evaluate
the work of employees within their units. The formal occasions for determining
whether an individual is devoting sufficient time and effort to University
employment include regular reviews of performance in connection with annual
salary decisions and scheduled reviews incident to promotion, reappointment or
tenure decisions. In addition,
complaints from students, colleagues, or administrators about possible failures
to meet assigned responsibilities may arise and require investigation.
The issue, in each case, is whether the employee is meeting the requirements of
the job. If presented with evidence that
he or she is not meeting full-time responsibilities to the University, The
Code prescribes that "neglect of duty" is a ground for
disciplinary action, including the possibility of discharge. The following
describe instances of activities that require specific monitoring to
demonstrate compliance with policies.
A.
External
Professional Activities for Pay
The
University of North Carolina and its Constituent Institutions seek to appoint
and to retain, as employees, individuals of exceptional competence in their
respective fields of professional endeavor. Because of their specialized knowledge and
experience, these individuals have opportunities to apply their professional
expertise to activities outside of their University employment, including
secondary employment consisting of paid consultation or other service to
various public and private entities. These
practical compensated applications of their professional qualifications enhance
capabilities in teaching, research, and administration. Thus, participation of employees in external
professional activities for pay, typically in the form of consulting, is an
important characteristic of academic employment that often leads to significant
societal benefits, including economic development through technology transfer. However, External Professional Activities for Pay
are to be undertaken only if they do not:
1. Create a Conflict of Commitment by
interfering with the obligation of the individual to carry out all University
Employment Responsibilities in a timely and effective manner;
2. Create a Conflict of Interest because
of the individual's status as a Covered Employee of the University;
3. Involve any inappropriate use or exploitation of
University resources;
4. Make any use of the name or marks of the University of
North Carolina or any of its Constituent Institutions for any purpose other
than professional identification; or
5. Claim, explicitly or implicitly, any University or
institutional responsibility for the conduct or outcome of the External
Professional Activities for Pay.
The
UNC Policy Manual, 300.2.2.1[R], contains provisions established to
monitor possible Conflicts of Commitment, including mandatory pre-approval at
appropriate university levels of External Professional Activities for Pay. A faculty or non-faculty EPA employee who
wishes to engage in External Professional Activity for Pay must adhere to these
regulations to provide satisfactory assurances that the activity will not
interfere with University Employment Responsibilities. These regulations may not apply to faculty and
non-faculty EPA employees serving on academic year (9-month) contracts, if the External
Professional Activity for Pay is wholly performed and completed outside of the
contract service period and the activity does not conflict with the policies of
the Constituent Institution or Board of Governors and is not conducted
concurrently with a contract service period for teaching, research, or other
services to the institution during a summer session.
In
those instances when State-reimbursed travel, work time, or resources are used
or when the activity can be construed as related to the Covered Employee’s
University Employment Responsibilities on behalf of the State, the employee
shall not receive any financial consideration, including an honorarium. In these instances the employee may request
that the honorarium be paid to the University. The honorarium may be retained by the employee
only for activities performed outside of normal working hours, as defined by
the institution, or while the employee is on earned paid or annual leave, and all
expenses are the responsibility of the employee or a third party that is not a
State entity. Third party support may need to be disclosed under the
implementing policies and procedures for Constituent Institutions. In addition, senior academic and
administrative officers may also be subject to special regulations regarding
honoraria which require leave to be taken when External Professional Activities
for Pay will take place during the regular work week. Please refer to the UNC
Policy Manual, 300.2.2.2[R].
Instead
of using earned paid or annual leave as set out above employees who are exempt
from the Fair Labor Standards Act and who are out of work due to an External Professional
Activity for Pay, or who wish to retain an honorarium, may be able to use
periodic uncompensated leave rather than annual leave, provided the Constituent
Institution implementing policies allow the use of uncompensated leave, and the
appropriate Department Head approves.
External
Professional Activities for Pay performed for another UNC Constituent
Institution or agency of the State of North Carolina also must comply with
applicable State policies governing dual employment and compensation, unless an
exception to those State policies is expressly authorized by the chancellor or
the President.
The
Board of Governors has also established rules for monitoring and regulating the
involvement of University employees in political candidacy and office-holding
that could interfere with full-time commitment to University duties. Please
refer to UNC Policy Manual, 300.5.1 et seq. for specific policy details.
*Supersedes
Policy 300.2.2 originally entitled, “Conflicts of Interest and Commitment
Affecting Faculty and Non-Faculty EPA.”