03/19/01
10/08/01
To: University faculty and P & A staff
From: Chris Maziar, Vice President for Research and Dean of the Graduate School
Carol Carrier, Vice President for Human Resources
Many thanks for your patience in working through the new online system for reporting external consulting and conflict of interest. This new system and process replace the previous manual process using Forms 14 and 15. Based on your feedback, we have made technical adjustments and improved communications with collegiate administrators to help you complete these forms.
The 2001 reporting year encompasses external professional activities or relationships engaged in during the period from September 1, 2000 through August 31, 2001. This September-August schedule aligns the AREPA reporting period with the academic year and will be the reporting period used in subsequent years.
Previously, the 2000 reporting year covered activities engaged in during the period July 1, 1999 through August 31, 2000; the 1999 reporting year covered activities engaged in during the period July 1, 1998 through June 30, 1999.
The deadline for both faculty and P & A staff to complete forms for the previous reporting period is October 15. AREPA forms for the 2001 reporting period (detailing activities engaged in from September 1, 2000 to August 31, 2001) are due on October 15, 2001.
All Academic Employees are required to report, at least annually, any external professional activities or relationships (and to indicate if those activities have the potential of a conflict of interest in regard to their University duties). The term 'Academic Employee' refers to any person holding a paid academic appointment (at any percentage of time) at the University, and it includes all persons with the following class numbers: Academic Administrative 93xx; Faculty 94xx; Minnesota Extension Service 96xx; and Academic Professionals 97xx. Exempted from the AREPA reporting requirement are Academic Employees with either 1) a 94xx appointment with the appointment type of A (Adjunct), T (Temporary), U (Clinical), or V (Visiting); or 2) a part-time appointment solely for the purpose of classroom instruction and responsible for no more than two courses annually. However, any Academic Employee, whether salaried or not salaried, who on behalf of the University is responsible for the design, conduct, or reporting of research is required to file an AREPA form.
This required reporting is not designed to discourage external professional activities or relationships but to assist Academic Employees to arrange them so as to be compatible with their primary duties as University employees. Because many external relationships of Academic Employees may enhance their professional skills and serve legitimate public interests, it is the presumption that such activities are appropriate unless they give rise to an actual conflict of interest.
As in the past, faculty, academic professional employees, and academic administrators are required (by the Regents Policy on Conflict of Interest; see link below) to complete this form at least once a year. In addition, a new AREPA form must be completed whenever, throughout the year, substantial changes have occurred in the employee's financial or business interests that may pose a potential conflict of interest. Regents policy also requires disclosure of financial or business interests to the University when submitting proposals for sponsored research, when receiving financial contributions, and when involved with technology transfer. Federal guidelines also require such disclosures when submitting research protocols to the Institutional Review Board (IRB).
To facilitate the many required uses of AREPA submissions and to enhance the University community's compliance with Regental and federal policy and regulation, the EGMS AREPA form has been improved to simplify both data entry and form approval. See the List of New AREPA Features link found at the top of this page for a summary of the improvements.
Requirements for AREPA filing
When a faculty or academic staff member reports external professional activities on the AREPA, the University can ensure that these activities are reviewed and are compatible with the employee's primary duties at the University. If the faculty or academic staff member indicates on the AREPA that the activities have the potential for a conflict of interest, the University can work with the individual to manage the potential conflict whenever possible. The new AREPA features allow the University to streamline the identification and resolution of potential conflicts of interest.
A faculty or academic staff member may also file an AREPA form to fulfill the reporting requirements of the Regents Policy on Outside Consulting, Service Activities, and Other Work (see the link below). Faculty and academic staff members should use the online ROC (Request for Consultant or Outside Service Agreement; also available through EGMS) form to secure prior approval for consulting and external service, as required by Regents policy.
With the new tools in place, if an individual has filed at least one AREPA during the reporting year (September 1, 2000-August 31, 2001 for the current year), he or she will not be required to file a form at the end of the reporting year. Those who did not file an AREPA at any time during the year need to submit an end-of-year form (even if there are no external activities to report).
U of M POLICIES RELATED TO EXTERNAL PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
Code of Conduct
Outside Consulting, Service Activities, and Other Work
Conflict of Interest