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Southern Polytechnic State University
Policy and Procedure Manual
P&P Number: 802.10

Original Date of Issue: November 1987
Last Revision: April 1997
Current Revision: February 2002

Faculty/Staff Consulting

Overview

This P&P includes the following main sections:

Background
Board of Regents policy on consulting (BR 802.1602)
General description of SPSU policy
Procedure for employees not in Academic Affairs
Procedure for employees in Academic Affairs

Background

Full-time faculty members at SPSU who engage in consulting are governed by the Board of Regents' and university policies.

The purpose of these policies includes ensuring that outside consulting does not detract from the faculty member's university responsibilities or other institutional resources, as well as avoiding conflicts of interest.

Board of Regents Policy on Consulting (BR 802.1602)

Recognizing that teaching, research, and public service are the primary responsibilities of faculty members in the University System of Georgia, it shall be considered reasonable and desirable for faculty members to engage in consulting activities, which are defined for the purposes of this policy as any additional activity beyond duties assigned by the institution, professional in nature and based in the appropriate discipline, for which the individual may receive additional compensation during the contract year.

Each unit of the University System shall adopt guidelines governing consulting activities of faculty or staff members which shall include the following:

A plan for reimbursing the institution for use of the institution's personnel, facilities, equipment and/or materials consistent with rates charged outside groups or persons

A procedure for obtaining prior approval of the president or a designee

A procedure for defining and prohibiting conflicts of interest

General Description of SPSU Policy

No.

Policy Description

An employee of Southern Polytechnic must avoid actual or apparent conflict of interest between his or her university obligations and his or her outside activities.

Each employee is personally responsible for self-monitoring and reporting instances that may be perceived as conflicts of interest.

Note:

Additional information about the University System of Georgia's policies on conflict of interest is available from the Office of Human Resources.

An employee of Southern Polytechnic shall not engage in any occupation, pursuit, or endeavor that will interfere with the regular and punctual discharge of official duties.

All full-time faculty, administrators, and other professional staff members are expected to give full professional effort to their university work.

Professional employees are encouraged to participate in professional activity that does not interfere with the regular and punctual discharge of official duties provided the activity meets one of the following criteria:

a)    Is a means of personal professional development
b)    Serves the community, the state, or nation
c)    Is consistent with the objectives of the institution

For all activities (except one single occasion of a day or less for the entire year) the employee shall report in writing through the official channels the proposed arrangements and secure the approval of the chief administrative officer of the area (or his or her designee) before engaging in the activities. Such activities include the following

Consulting
Teaching (other than SPSU's credit-bearing courses)
Speaking
Participating in business or service enterprises

Any official reports produced as a result of an employee's consulting or occupational activities must bear the below listed disclaimer when, in these activities, the employee has represented himself as a Southern Polytechnic employee, or when the report bears reference to Southern Polytechnic:

"This report represents the opinions of the author. It carries no official endorsement by Southern Polytechnic State University."

Procedure for Employees Not in Academic Affairs

The following procedure applies to employees (1) who are not in Academic Affairs, (2) who are interested in engaging in consulting/occupational activities, and (3) who will be conducting consulting/occupational activities for more than one single occasion of a day or less for the entire fiscal year.

Procedure
1.	Approval can be requested on a case-by-case basis or for a semester or fiscal year, if a particular activity is expected to continue over several months.
2.	To request approval for outside activities, the employee should send a memo through the reporting structure to the chief administrative officer of the area.
3.	The memo should allow space for the various individuals in the reporting structure to indicate their approval.
4.	The memo should address the following topics: A statement that the outside activities will not interfere with the person's regular responsibilities as a full-time employee of the university. A description of the nature of the consulting activities and for whom they will be provided. An explanation of how the proposed activities are a form of one or more of the following: professional development, service to the broader community, and/or part of the university's mission. A plan for reimbursing the university for any institutional resources that will be used (personnel, facilities, equipment, supplies, or materials).

Procedure for Employees in Academic Affairs

The following procedure applies to employees (1) who are in Academic Affairs, (2) who are interested in engaging in consulting/occupational activities, and (3) who will be conducting consulting/occupational activities for more than one single occasion of a day or less for the entire fiscal year.

NOTE:

This procedure applies only to the academic year (not to the fiscal year) for full-time faculty who are not teaching any courses at SPSU in the summer and who are not using institutional resources during the summer for outside consulting/occupational activities.

Procedure Description
1.	To request approval for outside activities, the employee should send a memo to the vice president for academic affairs by way of the dean or director who supervises the employee's unit.
2.	The memo should allow space for the signatures of approval by the dean or director to whom the individual reports. (School deans will consult with the respective program heads before approving or disapproving a request.)
3.	The memo should address the following topics: A statement that the outside activities will not interfere with the person's regular responsibilities as a full-time employee of the university. A description of the nature of the consulting activities and for whom they will be provided. An explanation of how the proposed activities are a form of one or more of the following: professional development, service to the broader community, and/or part of the university's mission. A plan for reimbursing the university for any institutional resources that will be used (personnel, facilities, equipment, supplies, or materials).
4.	The memo of request can cover one specific activity or it can encompass a series of activities expected to continue for as long as the entire year. If the latter is the case, the employee must do the following in addition to gaining general approval: Receive approval for each specific activity by having the dean or director sign off on a separate memo of request before the activity. Include the following information in the separate memo of request for each activity: specific activity to be conducted, amount of time involved, relevance of the activity to SPSU work, and any other useful information.
5.	Approval for outside consulting activities, according to this policy, is a separate issue from how such consulting will be considered in the personnel review process, which is addressed in other policy and procedure documents.

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