ACD 510–01: Notification of Consulting or Other Remunerative Arrangements for Faculty and Academic Professionals

To describe the policies and procedures applicable to supplemental professional activities for faculty and academic professionals

Arizona Board of Regents Policy Manual - 6–705

Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost of the University

Faculty members

Academic professionals

Faculty members and academic professionals with administrative appointments

Faculty members, academic professionals, and administrative personnel on full-time appointment are compensated for full-time service. Therefore, their primary responsibility as employees of the Board of Regents and the State of Arizona is the full and competent performance of all assigned duties arising from their employment with the university. Both the university and the public have every right to expect such. Outside or dual employment or other forms of employee community interaction which, by the nature or degree of involvement required, in any way interfere with the regular work of the employee will not be permitted.

The Board of Regents recognizes the value to its personnel, to the university, and to the community of many types of consulting and other external employment experiences in which members of the faculty, academic professionals, and administrative personnel may engage. Such activities enhance the professional competency of the individual and bring credit, not only to the employee, but to the university as well. Therefore, these activities that may render valuable service to business; industry; professional groups; local, state, and federal government; as well as providing an important ongoing link between the university and the surrounding community are permitted in accordance with certain conditions.

1. Outside or dual employment or other forms of employee community interaction which, by the nature or degree of involvement required, in any substantial way interferes with the regular work of the employee, will not be permitted.


2. Consulting or supplemental professional activity must not interfere in any substantial way with the regular work of the employee.


3. Consulting or supplemental professional activity must be directly related to the faculty member’s or academic professional’s competence in his or her area of expertise.


4. Prior written notification must be given by the faculty or academic professional to his or her department chair and dean on the form provided by the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost of the University.


5. An annual report detailing all consulting and supplemental professional activity completed by the end of Spring semester is due May 15 to the department chair. Reporting forms are available from the dean’s office.


6. The activity must be fully consistent with all rules promulgated by the university and the Board of Regents.


7. Consulting agreements under which the faculty member assigns his or her rights to intellectual property created as a result of the consulting activity may be opposed to ABOR Patent Policy No. 6-908 and will not be permitted without appropriate review by the Intellectual Property Committee with recommendations to the vice provost for research.

Each unit head is responsible for notifying his/her faculty of the consultation policy at the beginning of each semester. Faculty members and academic professionals must submit a Notification of Consulting or Other Remunerative Arrangement form to their unit chair or director prior to beginning the activity. The unit chair or director will review all forms to assure that the work does not interfere with the university workload and for real, apparent, or potential conflicts of interest. The chair or director will forward notification forms to the dean. A faculty member or academic professional must submit a new form for each consultation or remunerative opportunity or as new facts create a potential or actual conflict of interest. If a conflict of interest is perceived to exist, the individual will be notified.

Failure on the part of a faculty member or academic professional to submit this form prior to the beginning of each activity, or when subsequent events require a new submission, may result in disciplinary action.

Deans are authorized to establish more stringent policies concerning notification. Such policies may require faculty members and academic professionals to obtain written permission before filing notification.

Compensation from a university fund source may not exceed the person’s hourly rate at ASU.

Supplementary professional activities shall not exceed 312 hours per academic year for those on academic-year contracts or 384 hours per fiscal year for those on fiscal-year contracts. The number of hours counted for the consulting activity will be determined by agreement with the dean without reference to the compensation to be received.

Tenured and tenure-track faculty or continuing status and probationary academic professionals employed in institutions in the Arizona University System may not be simultaneously employed in similar capacities in any other post-secondary institutions. This restriction does not preclude brief consulting or research efforts that are conducted in accord with the provisions above.