This page addresses six of the most frequently asked technical questions about the EGMS REPA form. If you have additional technical questions, contact the REPA technical helpline at (612) 624-1600 or at repa@egms.umn.edu.

• Cloning a previous year's form
• Choosing a departmental approver
• Reporting activities for part-time appointees
• Answering REPA General Question 2
• Finding ROC information
• Approving large numbers of forms

1. Many of my activities and interests to enter on the REPA this year are the same as last year. Can I "clone" a previous year’s form?

No. Faculty and staff are required to complete a new form each time they need to submit a REPA, because preparing a new form each time decreases the possibility that outdated or incomplete information would be listed on a form.

2. EGMS asks me to choose my departmental approver for my REPA form from a list of employees in my department. Who should my approver be?

The academic head/chair/director of your home department is the departmental approver for your REPA. Administrative staff members may not sign as the departmental approver.

If you are unsure as to who should approve your REPA form at the departmental level or if your department head is not included in the list of possible approvers displayed by EGMS, contact the REPA Helpline at (612) 626-1462. Helpline staff can assist you directly or put you in touch with your college or unit’s REPA coordinator for further assistance.

For the fall of 2003, the list of REPA departmental approvers to choose from in EGMS will include only those employees in your home department appointed with a job title such as Head, Chair, or Director. These short, defined lists will streamline the process for choosing the correct approver and decrease the number of administrative staff members who receive REPA forms to approve by mistake.

3. I have a part-time appointment at the University, and the University is my secondary employer. How I can indicate my non-University activities on the EGMS REPA Outside Consulting, Service Activities, & Other Work screen so that I don’t go over the maximum time limit for outside activities?

Part-time University employees who have outside activities should prorate the number of days reported for each outside activity based on the number of days of University-committed time spent on the activity, so as to not exceed the maximum time limits for outside activities set forth in the Regents Policy on Outside Consulting, Service, and Other Work.

In addition, to assist the form’s reviewers, a part-time employee can add a comment as to their part-time status and time commitments on the REPA Submission screen.

4. I think more of my faculty should be answering Yes to REPA General Question 2, because the wording of the question has been changed. If an employee has an outside activity with compensation of more than $10,000 from a single organization, shouldn’t he or she say Yes to General Question 2?

Yes. General Question 2 asks:

Did, or will you, a member of your immediate family, or an associated entity (e.g. a trust) have a financial interest from or in a business that relates to your University activities and that equals or exceeds either:

• income of $10,000 from that business (including but not limited to royalties, consulting fees, and/or dividends), or
• an equity interest in that business valued at $10,000 or representing 5% ownership (regardless of worth)?

University employees with more than $10,000 in income from a single organization, including from consulting, should answer Yes to General Question 2 in Part I of the REPA. Colleges with part-time employees who answer Yes to General Question 2 only because of a full-time external position in the community may use some discretion in the level of administrative review of these financial interests as compared to those of full-time University employees who answer Yes to General Question 2.

5. The EGMS REPA Outside Consulting, Service Activities, & Other Work screen asks for information about a ROC (Request for Outside Consultant or Service Agreement) form associated with a particular outside activity. Where do I find a ROC that I previously filed?

Before the year 2000, ROC forms were filed on paper. Since then, ROC forms are filed in EGMS. If you have filed a ROC but do not have a record of the ROC, contact the REPA Helpline at (612) 626-1462 for assistance. Helpline staff can check for the existence of an electronic ROC in EGMS or, if the ROC was prepared outside of EGMS, re-direct you to your collegiate or unit office for further assistance.

Outside activities engaged in for an average of more than one day/month require a ROC form to be filed to request permission for the activity before the activity begins. If you are completing your REPA form and need to report engaging in such an activity but have not previously requested permission for that activity, contact the REPA Helpline at (612) 626-1462 for assistance. Helpline staff can put you in touch with your college or unit’s REPA coordinator for further assistance.

6. How can I most efficiently handle the online REPA approval process for all the forms sent to me?

EGMS provides an option to batch-approve in a single step all the REPA forms on which no activities or interests were reported. Batch approval saves you from clicking into each form submitted for review and approval. As more than 80% of REPA forms filed University-wide have no activities or interests reported, this feature reduces the administrative work associated with electronic REPA review and approval.

For more information on how to batch approve REPA forms, contact the EGMS Technical Helpline at (612) 624-1600.