Current through all regulations passed and filed through September 16, 2024
(A) Policy
statement. The university supports faculty participation in activities in the
government, industry, and other private institutions that generally serve the
academic interest of the university. Students, the university, and the state of
Ohio generally benefit from experiences faculty bring to the classroom and the
recognition that such experiences bring to the faculty and university.
Therefore, faculty may provide professional consulting services to entities or
individuals outside the university and receive compensation for such services
as long as the services do not create a conflict of commitment with the
performance of their university duties, compete with the interests and work of
the university, or violate any university policy or state or federal statute or
applicable research or grant-funding guidelines.
(B) Purpose. The purpose of this policy is to
establish guidelines under which faculty may engage in outside paid consulting
services and the reporting requirements which arise when faculty engage in such
services outside of their university duties and in their areas of general
professional expertise.
(C) Scope. This policy applies to all
full-time faculty who perform the duties of an educator, instructor, or
professor and whose primary position does not involve the performance of or
authority to perform administrative or supervisory functions.
This policy does not apply to external professional
activities that are expected of faculty in their professional roles, such as
work on peer review panels and advisory bodies for other universities or
publishers. This policy does not apply to employees covered by
rule
3356-7-34
of the Administrative Code ( university policy 3356-7-34, "Outside
consulting services/employment - full-time university employees").
(D) Definition. In general, "consulting" is
defined as professional activity related to the person's field or discipline,
where a fee-for-service or equivalent relationship with a third party
exists.
(E) Parameters.
(1) Ohio ethics laws
and related statutes:
(a) The prohibitions
contained in Ohio ethics law in divisions (D) and (E) of section
102.03
of the Revised Code do not apply to faculty who are educators and whose
position does not involve administrative or supervisory functions.
Divisions (D) and (E)
of section
102.03
of the Revised Code prohibit employees from soliciting, accepting, or using
their position to secure anything of value if the thing of value is of such a
character as to have a substantial and improper influence upon the employee
with respect to their duties.
(b)
Sections
102.04
and
2921.43
of the Revised Code prohibit all faculty, regardless of whether they perform
administrative or supervisory duties, from receiving payment from a third party
for the performance of their official duties.
(c)
Section
2921.42
of the Revised Code prohibits all faculty from having an unlawful interest in a
public contract (i.e., authorizing or influencing the university to enter into
a contract that benefits the employee, family, or business associates, or
simply benefitting from a contract with the university unless the exceptions in
division (c) section
2921.42
of the Revised Code are met).
(2)
Faculty providing
consulting services should also refer to rules
3356-7-01,
3356-5-12, and 3356-4-19 of the Administrative Code (university policies
3356-7-01, "Conflicts of interest and conflicts of commitment"; 3356-5-12,
"Licensing of university names and marks"; and 3356-4-19, "Use of university
equipment").
(3) Generally,
the proportion of a faculty member's professional effort devoted to consulting
should not exceed one business day per week. Acceptance of a faculty
appointment at the university requires that the faculty member make a
commitment to the university consistent with the faculty appointment and
academic rank. Outside consulting should not conflict with the overriding
commitment made to the university. Outside activities that should not interfere
with the faculty members' commitment to the university include, but are not
limited to, other public or private employment, consulting, teaching, research,
or memberships on corporate boards.
(4) University facilities, supplies,
equipment, and resources, including letterhead (collectively referred to as
"resources") may not be utilized when providing consulting services without
appropriate compensation and prior written approval of the vice president for
finance and
business operations and the provost. Faculty
shall not use the university name or the fact that they are affiliated with the
university in a manner that suggests that the university approves the product
or service that is the subject of the consulting or that would suggest
university involvement or approval of the consulting activity, purpose or
findings.
(5) Under Ohio law, the
university owns any intellectual property that results from research or
investigation conducted by employees within the scope of their employment or
with funding, equipment, or infrastructure provided by or through the
university. Approval for the use of university resources does not negate the
university's rights to and interest in discoveries, inventions, or patents
pursuant to Ohio law.
(6)
Consulting services may not be offered for activities provided by the
university as part of its operations unless otherwise approved in consultation
with the provost. Faculty may not enter into consulting arrangements that
compete with the interests and work of the university.
(F) Procedures.
(1) Faculty shall annually complete the
outside consulting/employment disclosure form (form),
regardless of whether or not they engage in outside
consulting/employment.
(2)
Faculty shall submit the
completed form to
their
chairperson for review and approval/disapproval
at least thirty days prior to the commencement of the
consulting/employment services. The chairperson shall complete their review and
forward the form to the office of human resources.
(3)
The office of
human resources will forward a copy of the completed form to the signatories
and will also provide copies of the form to the office
of research services in order to assist with conflict checks in that office.
The office of human resources will maintain the forms and information in
accordance with university retention schedules.
(4) The form must be
completed on an annual basis for each new and ongoing employment or consulting arrangement. Faculty are
under a continuing duty to update the form when circumstances change.
(G) Policy violations.
(1) Faculty are responsible for any damages
or claims for damages which may arise in connection with their outside
consulting activities. The limited immunity conferred by section
9.86
of the Revised Code does not apply to consulting activities.
(2) Failure to adhere to this policy,
including but not limited to failure to properly report outside consulting
services/employment may result in corrective action/discipline up to and
including termination.
