Scholarly and professional outside compensated services

The University of Nevada, Reno encourages its faculty and staff to use their professional expertise to advance and communicate knowledge through interaction with the public, the community, and external activities. The University understands that such activities enhance performance of University teaching, advance University research and public service missions, and bring credit to the University.

At the same time, the University has a responsibility to ensure that external influences do not negatively affect the performance of an employee's primary responsibilities to the University. Compensated outside scholarly and professional activities raise important questions related to time and energy allocation, use of University resources, intellectual property protection, and potential for financial conflicts of interests.

Per UAM 2,690: Faculty Providing Scholarly and Professional Outside Compensated Services, full time academic and administrative faculty members who plan to engage in scholarly and professional services compensated from outside sources must provide prior notification and request prior approval from their department chair, dean, or vice president.

Similarly, UAM 2,237: Classified Employees with Secondary Employment, classified employees who provide services to entities, agencies, or firms outside the University must request prior written approval from their supervisor, department chair, dean or vice president.

Prior notification and approval is requested online through InfoEd. Ongoing activities require annual notification and re-approval.

Please refer to UAM 2,690, UAM 2,237 and the NSHE Board of Regents Handbook, T4, Ch 3, Sec 9 "Compensated Outside Professional Services" for important compliance requirements.

Requesting approval to engage in outside compensated services

Instructions and guidelines for reviewing an outside compensated service request

What activities require prior notification and approval?

Professional or scholarly service by faculty members and classified employees within their subject matter field of expertise and for compensation by sources other than University-administered funds. For example: consulting, research, teaching, studies, surveys, and training programs. The prior notification requirement also applies to compensated outside activities that result in textbooks, scholarly articles, musical and artistic works, and other forms of educational media when the title to the property remains with the creator and when these are considered for evaluations for performance, and tenure and promotion.

• Compensation refers to anything of value received from an outside entity in any form, including, but not limited to salary, consulting fees, speaker fees, honoraria, paid authorship, paid or reimbursed travel, business ownership equity, loans, stocks, bonds, stock options, laboratory/office space, high-value materials that are not freely available (e.g., biologics, chemicals, model systems, technology, etc.), equipment, supplies, financial support for students and laboratory personnel, and rights to patent or royalty payments.
• Include professional activities for both domestic and foreign entities.
• There is no minimum threshold of compensation.

What activities are excluded from the requirement for prior notification and approval?

Examples of activities that do not require advance notification and approval include:

• Presenting at professional meetings, workshops, colloquia, symposia, and seminars.
• Serving on an advisory committee, review panel, or board of a public institution, agency, or non-profit organization, unless the results of your activities or decisions on behalf of the University could be of financial benefit to the institution, agency or non-profit organization.
• Serving as a reviewer or editor for a scholarly journal.
• Holding office in or undertaking an editorial office or duties for a scholarly journal, academic press, or professional organization.
• Site visits to public, academic, or non-profit institutions in connection with accreditation, audits, sponsor project reviews, research or similar activities.

Required notification to outside entities

Employees providing scholarly and professional outside compensated services are required to notify those who engage them that they are not acting on behalf of the University and that the University is not party to the contract nor liable for the actions of the employee.

Use of University resources

Employees providing scholarly and professional outside compensated services may not use University time, property, equipment or other resources to benefit their personal or financial interest.

Important things to know when engaging in an outside compensated service