Thank you for participating in Wednesday’s Ethics Awareness Week question.

Congratulations to Andrea Mathis for being the first person to answer Wednesday’s question correctly!

Today’s question was about the BOR’s Conflict of Interest Policy.

Which of the following statement(s) are true?

1. USG employees have an ongoing responsibility to report and fully disclose any personal, professional, or financial interest that has the potential to create an actual or apparent conflict of interest with respect to the employee’s USG duties.
2. Employees must obtain written authorization in advance to engage in side jobs and compensated outside activities that relate to the employee’s job responsibilities.
3. USG employees are generally prohibited from consulting with or otherwise receiving compensation from a USG vendor or an entity seeking a vendor relationship with the USG.
4. USG employees do not need approval to participate or volunteer in community activities for which they are not paid and which take place outside of work hours.
5. All of the above.

Correct Answer: E. All of the above.

The Board of Regents policy on Conflicts of Interest, Conflicts of Commitment and Outside Activities requires employees to report and fully disclose any personal, professional, or financial interest that has the potential to create an actual or apparent conflict of interest. This policy also requires any USG employee with a work commitment of 30 or more hours per week and faculty members on contracts of nine months or more to obtain written approval prior to engaging in compensated outside activities that relate to the employee’s expertise or responsibilities as a USG employee.

Additionally, USG employees are generally prohibited from consulting with or otherwise receiving compensation from a current vendor of, or an entity seeking a vendor relationship with, the USG institution where the employee works.  Finally, this policy encourages employees to participate in professional activities that do not interfere with the regular and punctual discharge of official duties. Service for some non-paid, professional associations that are relevant to an employee’s assigned duties would be considered work time. An example would be a USG internal auditor who is serving in an unpaid capacity on the board of the National Association of College and University Auditors (NACUA). Service in this capacity would be considered work hours for which the employee could also use their assigned laptop.

The procedures to follow to obtain permission to participate in a compensated outside activity can be found in the Human Resources Administrative Practice Manual. A link to this policy provision is provided below.

Relevant Policy Consideration:

1. BOR 8.2.18.2 Conflicts of Interest, Conflicts of Commitment and Outside Activities, https://www.usg.edu/policymanual/section8/C224/#n82182
2. Human Resources Administrative Practice Manual: Conflicts of Interests, Conflicts of Commitment and Outside Activities, https://www.usg.edu/hr/assets/hr/hrap_manual/HRAP_Conflict_of_Interest.pdf
3. The USG Ethics Policy, https://www.usg.edu/policymanual/section8/C224/#p8.2.18_personnel_conduct

Other Helpful Resources:

Explanatory Notes on USG Ethics Policy, https://www.usg.edu/organizational_effectiveness/ethics_compliance/ethics_policy

If you have questions about the Conflict of Interest or Conflicts of Commitment and Outside Activities Policies, you should feel free to ask your supervisor or the USG Office of Ethics and Compliance. (https://www.usg.edu/organizational_effectiveness/ethics_compliance).