Statement of Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to establish requirements for identifying, managing, reducing, and/or eliminating conflicts of interest and managing compensated outside services. This policy complies with the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE), State of Nevada requirements, and federal financial conflict of interest regulations.
Entities Affected by this Policy
All 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ units are affected by this policy.
Who Should Read this Policy
All 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ employees must read and understand this policy.
Policy
51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ must comply with federal, state, and NSHE regulations related to conflicts of interest and compensated outside services. Based on these requirements, all university employees must identify all potential conflicts of interest and all compensated outside service through the annual submission of a completed disclosure form. All university employees must also submit an Outside Activity Request Form and obtain supervisor approval prior to agreeing to perform or participate in any new compensated outside service that may lead to a conflict of interest or commitment. Individuals affiliated with the university through sponsored projects must disclose potential conflicts of interest prior to their participation in such projects. Additional information on the disclosure and review process is available in the Conflict of Interest Rules and Procedures.
All conflicts of interest must be managed (through management plans, reduction, or elimination), and all employees must comply with NSHE policies regarding compensated outside services. 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ must report conflicts of interest associated with sponsored projects to the relevant federal funding agencies, and both conflicts of interest and compensated outside services must be reported to the Board of Regents.
This policy and associated rules and procedures must remain available on a publicly accessible university website.
Authority
Nevada Revised Statutes 281A.400 through 281A.430 details the code of ethics applicable to public officers and employees of the State of Nevada. This includes restrictions on conflicts of interest and compensated outside services. Nevada Revised Statutes 396.110 grants authority to the Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Regents to prescribe rules for governing the system. NSHE Board of Regents Handbook Title 4, Chapter 3, Section 9 delineates Board policy for compensated outside professional services. NSHE Board of Regents Handbook Title 4, Chapter 12 details the Intellectual Property Policy and Title 4, Chapter 10, Section 1.7 details prohibited Conflicts of Interest. Title 4, Chapter 3, Section 7 delineates the prohibition of nepotism.
Additionally, 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ must comply with the Federal Financial Conflict of Interest regulations, 42 CFR Part 50, Subpart F, and 45 CFR Part 94, and grant acceptance requirements, including the National Science Foundation Grant Policy Manual.
Related Information
University Policies
Links
Definitions
- Compensated Outside Activities
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Includes outside compensated professional or scholarly services performed by a University employee, but does not include income derived solely from passive investments. Provision of compensated outside services is recognized as a legitimate activity unless specifically prohibited by an employee’s contract of employment. A compensated outside activity is not considered appropriate when it interferes with the regular work of the University employee; involves unauthorized use of 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ facilities, personnel, services, or other resources; subjects other individuals or companies engaged in private practice to unfair competition; violates the general requirements of NRS 281A.400 through 281A.430; or involves a conflict of interest specified by NSHE or University policy that has not been reduced or eliminated.
- Conflict of Commitment (COC)
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Outside professional or scholarly service as outlined by the COI policy shall not interfere with the performance of the duties of any faculty member.
- B contract (9-month) faculty may engage in outside service during contractual time, but this activity must not equate to more than the equivalent of one day per work week (20% of contractual time) for full-time faculty members.
- Employees on A (12-month) contracts must take annual leave or furlough if providing outside service during the standard work week.
- Classified staff must perform outside compensated services around regularly scheduled hours.
- Conflict of Interest (COI)
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Any outside activity or interest that may or may appear to, adversely affect, compromise, or be incompatible with the obligations of an employee at 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ. COI encompasses any situation in which an employee of the University uses, or is in a position to use, one’s influence and authority within the University to advance one’s personal or financial interest, or the personal or financial interest of an individual in the employee’s household; person to whom the employee is related by blood, adoption or marriage within the third degree of consanguinity; or person with whom the employee has a substantial and continuing outside business relationship. The bias of such conflicts could conceivably inappropriately affect the goals of research, instructional, or administrative programs. The education of students, the methods of analyses and interpretation of research data, hiring of staff, procurement of materials, and other administrative tasks at the University must be free of undue influence of outside interests. For the purpose of reporting a COI to federal funding agencies, the federal definition(s) supersede the above definition and will be used to determine which conflicts of interest must be reported.
- Financial Conflict of Interest (FCOI)
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A significant financial interest that could directly and significantly affect the design, conduct, or reporting of funded research or affect the performance of duties for or by any University employee.
- Financial Interest
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Anything of monetary value, including but not limited to salary, or other payments for services (e.g., consulting fees or honoraria); equity interests (e.g., stocks, stock options or other ownership interests); and intellectual property rights (e.g., patents, copyrights and royalties from such rights), whether or not the value is readily ascertainable.
- Sponsored Project
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A research, training, service, or other type of project with identifiable objectives and/or deliverables for which external funding either is being requested or has been received.