Conflicts of Commitment

Under the Conflict of Interest, Conflict of Commitment, and Outside Activities Policy (COI/COC Policy), employees may not engage in activities that create a conflict of commitment.

A conflict of commitment exists when an employee accepts non-UO obligations that interfere with their institutional responsibilities. Examples of possible conflicts of commitment include, but are not limited to:

  • Using UO resources outside the university
  • Disclosing non-public uiversity information
  • Entering into non-disclosure agreements that conflict with the employee's reporting obligations or UO job duties
  • Entering into foreign engagements that trigger UO federal reporting without disclosing such engagement to the institution
  • Commitments by full-time employees to serve as lead researcher on grants on behalf of another institution
  • Participating in outside activities that exceed the conflict of commitment time thresholds described below

Learn More About Activities Requiring Disclosure and Approval

Time Commitments

All outside activities are considered when evaluating the time commitment threshold, even if the employee does not accept compensation for those activities.

For All Employees

Time spent on outside activities during approved leave or university holidays is not considered a conflict of commitment under the COI/COC Policy.

For Hourly Employees

For all hourly employees, outside activities performed outside of their UO work hours are not considered conflicts of commitment under the COI/COC Policy.

For Full-time Salaried Employees

For full-time employees, outside activities up to one day per seven-day week (averaged quarterly) are not considered conflicts of commitment under the COI/COC Policy.

For Part-time Salaried Employees

For part-time employees, the principle of engaging in an outside activity up to one day per seven-day week (averaged quarterly) is prorated, allowing outside activities up to the equivalent of full-time plus one day per week.

Calculate Proration

Part-time employees may use the calculator below to find the proration of the number of days they can engage in an outside activity.

Enter the FTE as a decimal (i.e., 20% FTE would be .20; 75% FTE would be .75). The results are displayed as the number of days per term.  

 FTE = {{ 78 - 65 * fte }} days per term in an outside activity allowable

For Nine-month Faculty

For nine-month faculty, time spent on outside activities during breaks between terms or unpaid summer months is not considered a conflict of commitment under the COI/COC Policy.

If nine-month faculty have UO FTE during the summer, the one-day-in-seven rule described above applies.

Activities included in an approved sabbatical plan are also not considered conflicts of commitment. 

However, outside activities occurring during summer months and during sabbatical may still require disclosure.