Conflicts of Interest

It is the policy of the University of Wisconsin System to require a report from all faculty, academic staff and limited appointees who engage in remunerative outside activities in their field of professional interest whose appointments are half-time or more for the period under contract to the UW System. If you have a joint appointment, you must file a report for each department/unit. Your report covers activities that occur during the full year, even if you were not under contract to the University for part of that time. You should discuss with your dean or director any activities that may present carryover questions of conflict with your responsibilities during your contract period. Additionally, while the form gathers information for the prior year, staff are required to report any changes in your circumstances as they occur as soon as possible.      

Note: The President, Chancellor or his/her designee may provide exception to the deadline of completing this form in extenuating circumstances. Notwithstanding the exception, the employee must immediately submit this form upon his/her return to work.

Faculty, Academic Staff and Limited Appointees use the Outside Activities Report form to report:

A remunerative relationship which is any relationship that results in payments, transfer of goods or provision of services to the reporting staff member.

An organization is any corporation, partnership, proprietorship, firm, enterprise, franchise, association, trust or the legal entity other than an individual or body politic (see Wis. Admin. Code § UWS 8.02(12).

Professionally related activities are activities related to the staff members’ field of academic interest or specialization.

Ordinary professional activities are those activities which extend an unclassified staff member’s normal institutional responsibilities of teaching, research and service to serving other public institutions, organizations, and professional societies. Examples of such ordinary professional activities would be:

1. Occasional lectures, colloquia, seminars, etc., given at colleges and universities and at meetings of professional societies.
2. Preparation of monographs, chapters and editorial services for nonprofit educational organizations.
3. Service on advisory committees and evaluation panels for government funding agencies, nonprofit foundations and educational organizations.
4. Leadership positions in professional societies.

Please note: The annual economic interests reporting requirement administered by the Office of the Board of Regents is separate from and in addition to the outside activities reporting requirement.  Pursuant to Wis. Admin. Code § UWS 8.06, the president, vice presidents, chancellors, and all contracting personnel must file a statement of economic interests with the Office of the Board of Regents annually, by April 30.

Activities which are reportable under UWS 8.025 include:

The University Staff Code of Ethics is set forth in section III of Regent Policy Document 20-22: Code of Ethics (RPD 20-22). University Staff are advised to review this policy in its entirety and to abide by the actions identified to avoid possible conflicts between personal interests and public responsibilities as an employee of UW System. When it appears that a material conflict may arise between the personal interests of a University Staff member and his or her public responsibilities, the University Staff member shall notify his or her supervisor or other appropriate administrator by submitting a written statement describing the nature of the possible conflict.

Please note: The annual economic interests reporting requirement administered by the Office of the Board of Regents is separate from and in addition to the outside activities reporting requirement.  Pursuant to Wis. Admin. Code § UWS 8.06, the president, vice presidents, chancellors, and all contracting personnel, as defined under UWS 8.02(7), must file a statement of economic interests with the Wisconsin State Ethics Commission by April 30.  If you are unsure whether you are defined as a “contracting personnel,” please contact your institution’s Office of Human Resources.

A conflict of interest on the part of the University Staff member exists whenever the University Staff member’s action or failure to act propitiously could reasonably be expected to directly or indirectly produce or assist in producing a private benefit for the University Staff member or the University Staff member’s immediate family or an organization with which the University Staff member is associated. Additional information on code of conduct for University Staff can be found here.

Any time a supervisor is made aware of a potential conflict of interest, whether through receipt of an Outside Activities Report or through another means, the supervisor should determine whether a potential conflict may exist. This determination should be made within 15 days of when the supervisor is made aware of the potential conflict.

Access OAR Form to Review and Approve

Steps in the Review Process

1. Collect Information:

• Meet with the employee to ask questions related to the potential conflict(s).
• Review conflict of interest guidance available from the Office of Compliance & Integrity:
  • Guidance for faculty, academic staff, and limited appointees
  • Guidance for university staff

2. Make one of the following determinations:

• No conflict exists. In this case the employee should be advised that they may continue the outside activity.
• A conflict does exist and cannot be avoided. In this case the employee should be advised to terminate involvement in the activity that causes a conflict.
• A conflict may exist but can be avoided. In this case, the supervisor should work with the employee to create a conflict management plan which outlines how the potential conflict will be avoided. For faculty, academic staff, and limited appointees, these plans should be filed with the Outside Activities Report form.
  • OCI has created a resource packet that includes an example template of a Conflict Management Plan for institutions.

For guidance on resolving conflicts and creating conflict management plans, please reach out to your institution’s Human Resources Department and/or the UW System Office of Integrity and Compliance.

Wis. Admin. Code § UWS 8.035 requires that each institution shall have an institutional ethics committee, “whose function shall be to provide to any member of the unclassified staff consultation and advice on the application” of Chapter UWS 8 Unclassified Staff Code of Ethics.  The institutional ethics committee can either be established or designated as part of an existing committee.