Conflict of Interest Policy Update

Dear Faculty,

I write to inform you of an important update to HOP 5-2011 Conflict of Interest, Conflict of Commitment, and Outside Activities, the UT policy that requires employees to disclose their outside professional activities. Along with updating the policy in July, UT has also simplified the reporting process and provided a single portal for disclosure.

HOP 5-2011 now requires all university employees to complete an annual disclosure. In addition, it requires that all faculty receive prior approval for any outside professional activities, except for those on the pre-approved list. With prior approval, faculty members may spend up to 8 hours per week on activities such as consulting or advising services, as long as obligations to the university or research sponsors continue to be met. There is no limit to the time devoted to outside activities during months when the faculty member is not paid by the university.

Please review these detailed guidelines for more information about the prior-approval process and the types of outside activities requiring approval.

To simplify the disclosure and approval process, the university has launched UTRMS-COI (UT Research Management Suite-Conflict of Interest), a new online portal that allows faculty to manage all outside activities and financial interest disclosures in one place. It replaces both the Outside Activity Portal and the Financial Interest Disclosure (FID) system that were used in the past.

Prior approval requests for new outside activities should be made in the UTRMS-COI system at any time. Your first disclosure of financial interests in the new portal should only be done when you receive a notification. After the initial disclosure, updates to your disclosure profile can be made at any time.

Faculty members who already have a financial interest disclosure on file in the old FID system will be notified to disclose in the new UTRMS-COI based on the date their existing FID expires, at the time they have a sponsored project award accepted, or if they are identified as personnel on a new IRB protocol — whichever occurs first. All other faculty will be prompted via email to make their first disclosure of activities in UTRMS-COI over the course of the next academic year.

I encourage you to review the updated HOP 5-2011 policy so you fully understand the changes. If you have any additional questions — about the policy or our new online portal — please contact Michelle Stickler, Associate VP for Research and Director of the Office for Research Support and Compliance.

Sincerely,

Sharon L. Wood
Executive Vice President and Provost

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