External Professional Activities for Pay

As defined by the Conflict of Interest and Commitment Policy:

External Professional Activities for Pay are activities that are 1) not included within one’s
University Employment Responsibilities; 2) performed for any entity, public or private, other than
the university; 3) undertaken for compensation; and 4) based upon the professional knowledge,
experience and abilities of the employee. Participation of employees in External Professional
Activities for Pay, typically in the form of consulting, is an important characteristic of academic
employment that often leads to significant societal benefits, including economic development
through technology transfer. However, External Professional Activities for Pay are to be undertaken
only if they do not:

1. Create a Conflict of Commitment by interfering with the obligation of the individual to carry
   out all University Employment Responsibilities in a timely and effective manner; generally,
   EPAPs should be limited to no more than the equivalent of 20% of the covered employee’s
   contracted time, during the appointment.
2. Create an unmanageable Conflict of Interest because of the individual’s status as a Covered
   Individual of the University;
3. Involve any inappropriate use or exploitation of University resources;
4. Make any use of the name or marks of East Carolina University for any purpose other than
   professional identification; or
5. Claim, explicitly or implicitly, any institutional responsibility for the conduct or outcome of
   the External Professional Activities for Pay.

Additional circumstances sometimes associated with External Professional Activities for Pay may
require special consideration. These include:

1. In those instances when State-reimbursed travel, work time, or resources are used or when
   the activity can be construed as related to the Covered Individual’s University Employment
   Responsibilities on behalf of the State, the employee shall not receive any financial
   consideration, including an honorarium. In these instances, the employee may request that
   the honorarium be paid to the university. The honorarium may be retained by the employee
   only for activities performed outside of working hours, as defined by the university, or
   while the employee is on earned paid or annual leave, and all expenses are the
   responsibility of the employee or a third party that is not a State entity. In addition, senior
   academic and administrative officers may also be subject to special regulations regarding
   honoraria which require leave to be taken when External Professional Activities for Pay will
   take place during the regular work week.
2. External Professional Activities for Pay performed for another UNC Constituent Institution
   or agency of the State of North Carolina also must comply with applicable State policies
   governing dual employment and compensation, unless an exception to those State policies
   is expressly authorized by the chancellor or the President.
3. The Board of Governors has also established rules for monitoring and regulating the
   involvement of University employees in political candidacy and office-holding that could
   interfere with full-time commitment to University duties.

NOTE: Activities for pay not involving the professional knowledge, experience and abilities for
which the Covered Individual is employed at the university (i.e., non-professional activities that are
part of an employee’s private life) are not subject to the advance disclosure and approval
requirements of this policy. As with all activities for pay outside of the university, however,
consideration should be given to whether they could generate a conflict of interest, or the
appearance of such.

Information contained on this page was adapted with permission from UNC Greensboro