Outside Consulting and Research

Full-time faculty (tenured/tenure-track faculty, instructors, research faculty, clinical faculty, etc.) and administrative professional employees (Supportive Professional Staff) who wish to engage in outside consulting, research (OCR) or outside employment (OE) activities must comply with the University Faculty Research and Consulting Act of 1969 and the Board of Trustees Regulations Section II. B. 2. on outside employment by completing and submitting a separate Outside Consulting, Research or Other Types of Outside Employment (OCR/OE) Request form for each outside entity for each fiscal year and obtain prior approval from their department chair/unit head/supervisor before engaging in activities with that outside entity.

Answers to our frequently asked questions are meant to provide additional clarifications of the OCR/OE request and approval process and should not be considered as substitutes for state of Illinois statutes and/or NIU Board of Trustees' Regulations. Since the NIU Board of Trustees' Regulations on Outside Employment is more comprehensive than the state of Illinois statute, covered NIU employees must comply with NIU Board of Trustees' Regulations.

If answers to your questions are not found below, please contact your supervisor, college dean/division head or the Office of the Provost at provost@niu.edu.

Forms and Documents

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Frequently Asked Questions

General Information

What is the difference between OCR and OE?

OCR pertains to State of Illinois' statute on outside consulting and research and OE pertains to NIU Board of Trustees' regulation on outside employment. The 110 ILCS 100/1et seq. statutes on outside consulting and research do not pertain to research or consultation for federal, state or local governments. The university's chief legal officer has determined this legislation is not applicable to non-faculty or non-administrative employees or to any faculty or administrative employees whose appointments are less than full-time. The legislation does not require any report of compensation a faculty member or administrative employee may receive for performing private outside services.

However, the Board of Trustees' regulations Section II. Subsection B. 2 on outside employment is much more comprehensive than the 110 ILCS 100/1et seq. statutes and requires formal approval of all types of outside employment including all outside consulting and research activities including those exempt by the 110 ILCS 100/1 et seq. statutes to ensure those outside activities do not encroach upon the employee's primary responsibilities and obligation to the university.

Is there a limit to the number of days allowed for OCR/OE activities?

Yes. In order to avoid conflict of commitment, faculty and administrative employees are allowed to participate in outside activities for up to a maximum of one day per week during their academic year appointments (i.e., 40 days per academic year for those on academic-year appointments). As a reminder, all OCR/OE activities must be approved before employees engage in such activities.

Disclosure and Approval

Who is required to complete and submit these request forms?

All full-time faculty (tenured/tenure-track faculty, instructors, research faculty, clinical faculty, etc.) and administrative employees (Supportive Professional Staff) are required to obtain appropriate approval prior to engaging in any and all outside consulting and/or research or outside employment activities.

What are some of the key issues to ensure prompt review of the OCR/OE request form?

Be sure to fill in all required fields of the OCR/OE request form including details about the outside activity and the organization/employer where the outside activity will take place. Please do not use abbreviations that are not commonly known and the approvers may not know. Submit this form in advance of the start date of the activity so your supervisor can review the request and approve it, if appropriate, or discuss potential concerns or conflicts of interest.

What is the purpose of the OCR and OE request form?

The purpose of the request form is to provide full-time faculty and supportive professional staff with a means by which to disclose intent and receive approval to engage in outside consulting and research and/or outside employment with non-state and/or non-federal agencies, as required by the State of Illinois statute or with any outside entity as required by the NIU Board of Trustees' regulations. The form is meant to provide a mechanism by which perceived or potential conflicts of interest and conflicts of commitment associated with any outside consulting and research and outside employment activities can be identified, resolved or managed so as to protect the integrity of the university, its employees and resources. The form is also used for documenting approved requests and for auditing purposes as the requests and reports annually audited by external auditors to ensure NIU is in compliance.

How should I submit the OCR/OE request form for approval and how will I know if the request is approved?

When you submit the completed OCR/OE request form through OnBase, your supervisor will be prompted to review it. After your request is approved by your supervisor, it is routed to the college dean/division head and then the Office of the Provost for further review and documentation.

You will receive an email alerting you that the request is approved or whether you need to address any concerns.

Reporting and Responsibility

What do I have to report after completing an approved OCR or OE activity?

At the conclusion of your previously-approved OCR/OE activity, you will receive an e-mail prompt that directs you to your online form so you can report on the total number of days spent on the activity during the fiscal year.

Simply document this information on the form and click submit. A record of the report will be maintained by the provost's office.

What are the responsibilities of the requesting employee's supervisors at the department/unit and college/division levels?

The department/unit supervisor and the college dean/division head are responsible for reviewing the request and ensuring that a conflict (time commitment, duration, interest, disclosure, etc.) does not exist, and deciding if the request should be approved or not based on a variety of other considerations including other approved overload and outside activities. If there is a potential or perceived conflict of interest with the proposed outside activity or any exceptions have to be made then you should work with the department/unit supervisor to disclose the conflict of interest and develop a conflict resolution/management plan for the request to be considered.

Contractual Commitment

Federal, State and University Resources

Can I involve NIU students or use university resources in my OCR or OE activities?

Yes, but only if approval is granted to involve students or use university resources before the start date of the activity and there is legitimate benefit to NIU students and the university. Such involvement should be disclosed at the time of the request and be approved by your supervisor and others who may provide the necessary resources at NIU.

Conflict Review and Management

How should a potential or perceived conflict of interest be handled?

It should be noted first that a potential or perceived conflict of interest or conflict commitment may not always be a problem but what is important is proper disclosure, review and resolution or management of that conflict so that you and the university are protected. If you recognize a potential or a perceived conflict with your proposed outside consulting and research or outside employment activity in relations to OCR/OE policies, discuss it with your chair/director/unit head and develop a conflict resolution/management plan for the conflicts or exceptions that may be needed. The plan should be approved by your supervisor and must be attached to your OCR/OE request form and forwarded to the appropriate college dean or division vice president.

What types of conflicts of interest can be encountered with OCR and OE activities?

The general types of conflicts of interest include (but not limited to) the following:

  • Financial conflict of interest: when an employee has a financial interest or a fiduciary role with the outside entity that may present a conflict of interest with the employee's university responsibilities. Such relationships may also include uncompensated activities.
  • Conflict of commitment: when outside activities interfere and/or diminish adequacy of performance of the employee's responsibilities to his or her unit, students or the university. Too many off-load activities such as multiple OCR or OE activities along with overload teaching and project activities can also result in conflict of commitment.
  • Conflict of opportunity: when an employee diverts for personal gain activities or projects to outside enterprises, which could have reasonably advanced the university's mission if those opportunities had come to the university.
  • Conflict of rights: when an employee shares, transfers or uses university's intellectual property rights with outside enterprises when doing so could be detrimental to the university.
  • Use of university facilities and resources: use of university's facilities and resources, not typically available to the general public, without prior approval for outside employment activities.
  • Involvement of students and trainees: is not allowed in an employee's outside activities unless it can be demonstrated such participation affords a substantial educational benefit for the students and trainees, and potential conflicts are managed appropriately.
  • Teaching/instructional conflict: when an employee is a paid instructor/developer for credit-bearing college/university course(s) at an institution other than the employee's university, thus aiding the competition and undermining NIU.

Contact Us

Office of Faculty Affairs

Bárbara González
Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs
bgonzalez4@niu.edu

Janice Hamlet
Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Mentoring and Diversity
jhamlet@niu.edu 

Dave DeThorne
Director of Academic and Labor Relations
ddethorne@niu.edu

Joan Parrish
Assistant to the Vice Provost of Faculty Affairs
jparrish1@niu.edu 

Marlene Bryant
Administrative Assistant
mbryant@niu.edu

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