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Submit Prior Approval Requests and Disclosures of Outside Professional Activities in COINS
COINS is the University’s online disclosure system for outside activities and interests. For streamlined disclosure submission instructions, use the COINS Quick Start Guide.
For more detailed guidance and step-by-step instructions on what and how to submit your disclosure, please visit the COINS Learning Path for Teaching Faculty webpage.
Read more about outside professional activities below.
Who Does AC80 Apply To?
All full-time Penn State faculty (36- or 48-week appointments) both tenure and non-tenure track faculty, research faculty, teaching faculty, clinical faculty, and professors of practice. This includes Penn State Health physicians with a College of Medicine appointment. Policy AC80 does not apply to adjunct or part-time faculty. Please note that Policy AC80 also applies during sabbaticals.
What are Outside Professional Activities?
Outside Professional Activities are paid or unpaid services that are in the faculty member’s general area of expertise but are beyond the scope of the individual’s employment at the University.
While all outside professional activities related to your institutional responsibilities require disclosure, there are specific activities that require prior approval. For additional assistance, review the applicable sections of this website and the following resources:
When to Disclose
- Annually (when notified via email)
- Within 30 days of starting a new outside activity
- Prior to an application for sponsored funding (if disclosure is not up to date)
- Or in certain instances as identified below, prior to starting the activity:
- Outside Teaching that takes place outside the Appointment Period should be disclosed within 30 days of accepting the Outside Teaching role or prior to starting that activity, whichever is earlier.
What Activities Require Disclosure?
Per AC80, all faculty are required to disclose all outside professional activities related to their institutional responsibilities, including those for which Prior Approval was required and obtained. See the Faculty Outside Activities and Disclosure Guide for more information and examples.
How Do I Disclose an Activity?
All outside professional activities are disclosed in COINS, the University’s online disclosure system for outside activities and interests. Use the COINS Quick Start Guide for streamlined submission instructions. For more detailed guidance and step-by-step instructions, please visit the COINS Learning Path webpage.
What Activities Require Prior Approval?
The following are outside activities that require prior approval (and then disclosure in COINS within 30 days of starting the activity):
- Exceeding the Monthly or Annual Time Limits defined above.
- Involving undergraduate or graduate students, or University staff, in Outside Professional Activities.
- Starting a company.
- Outside Teaching during the Appointment Period.
- Outside Professional Activities that involve the conveyance of intellectual property rights to another entity.
- Compensated (money or In-Kind) Research from all foreign and domestic entities that is not subject to approval by the Office for Sponsored Programs.
- Research at other entities for which there is a required time commitment or an agreement/contract between the faculty member and the other entity.
- Chairing a doctoral or graduate committee at another university.
- Holding a foreign or domestic position or professional appointment, including honorary, adjunct, and visiting positions or appointments, at another university (this includes titled academic, professional, or institutional appointments whether full-time, part-time, or voluntary) whether or not remuneration is received, other than those solely for the purpose of teaching a course outside of the Appointment Period.
- Running or having fiduciary responsibility for a Research endeavor at another entity (e.g. lab, institute, program)
- Participation in programs sponsored by foreign governments, instrumentalities, or entities, including foreign government-sponsored talent programs.
- Becoming an employee of or assuming an executive or management position for a third-party entity (e.g., as President, Chief Scientific Officer, etc.) including serving on the advisory board positions that have fiduciary responsibilities on behalf of the third-party entity.
How Do I Request Prior Approval?
To request prior approval for outside professional activities:
- Log in to COINS and submit the Pre-Approval Request. Please submit your request well before the activity to allow your department head enough time for review and approval.
- Create a separate pre-approval request for each outside activity.
- For more information on prior approval requests and how to submit one, review the Overview of Prior Approval for Outside Professional Activities webpage.
Approval for outside activities should not be unreasonably withheld. However, it may be withheld if the proposed activity, considering all the factors, would significantly interfere with your University responsibilities and obligations
What Activities are Excluded from AC80?
1. Activities Unrelated to Your Expertise
Activities that are not related to your area of expertise do not need disclosure or prior approval, do not need to be reported in the annual reporting, and do not count toward monthly or annual Time Limits.
2. Scholarly Activities
Scholarly activities are activities that are expected of a faculty member as part of their normal professional responsibilities and scholarship. These activities do not need prior approval, do not need to be disclosed in COINS (except when thresholds apply; see note below), and do not count toward monthly or annual Time Limits. Colleges, schools, or departments may place stricter limits on the number of hours that may be spent away from the University conducting these activities. Examples of Scholarly Activities include but are not limited to:
- Peer review of articles and grant proposals;
- Presentations at professional meetings or other similar gatherings;
- Leadership positions in professional societies;
- Preparation of scholarly publications;
- Unpaid (i.e. neither cash nor In-Kind compensation) scholarly collaboration at another institution of higher education for which there is no agreement or required time commitment;
- Editorial services for educational or professional organizations;
- Service on advisory committees or evaluation panels for governmental funding agencies, nonprofit foundations, or educational organizations;
- Serving on, but not chairing, master’s or doctoral thesis committees at another university;
- Service with accreditation agencies;
- Conducting workshops for professional societies; or
- Musical and other creative performances and exhibitions to the extent that they are expected or required of a faculty member in their position.
Disclosing Scholarly Activities in COINS
Although scholarly activities are excluded from disclosure under Policy AC80, you may have to disclose these scholarly activities in COINS under Policy RP06 if related to your institutional responsibilities and you exceed the applicable income thresholds. Thresholds vary by funding source. See the Disclosure Requirements for Penn State Faculty page for more information and examples.
3. Approved Sabbatical Plan Activities
- Activities conducted as part of the approved sabbatical plan are not outside activities for purposes of AC80.
- If faculty conduct additional activities that are not part of the sabbatical plan, the same time limits and reporting obligations must be followed.
Time Limitations and Reporting Requirements per Appointment Period
University policy AC80 requires all full-time faculty to request prior approval for certain outside professional activities and disclose all outside professional activities. This resource describes the time limitations and disclosure requirements for the different Appointment Periods under policy AC80.
Understanding Appointment Periods
An Appointment Period is the duration for which a faculty member is contracted to work at the University. There are two primary types of Appointment Periods: 36-week and 48-week.
- 36-week Appointment Period: Pertains to faculty contracted to work during the academic year (Fall and Spring semesters.)
- 48-week Appointment Period: Pertains to faculty contracted for the academic year (Fall and Spring semesters) and potentially includes summer sessions and additional duties beyond typical teaching responsibilities.
If you have a different appointment period than what is listed here and have questions about time limitations or disclosure requirements, contact the COI Office at coinsadmin@psu.edu.
Faculty on 36-weeks appointments:
May engage in activities up to 40 hours per month / 360 hours per appointment period. Monthly time limits only apply during the appointment period.
- The Appointment period includes:
- Paid leave from the University
- Sabbaticals
- Summer months when you receive supplemental salary
- Generally, faculty must seek prior approval for applicable activities regardless of when they are conducted.
- Faculty must disclose ALL outside professional activities regardless of when they are conducted, including weekends, weekdays, and evenings.
Faculty on 48-week appointments:
May engage in outside professional activities up to 40 hours per month / 480 hours per appointment period.
- Must seek prior approval and disclose all outside professional activities regardless of when they are conducted, including:
- Paid leave from the University
- Sabbaticals
- Weekdays, weekends, and evenings
Exceeding Time Limits
If faculty intend to exceed either the monthly or annual time limits, they must request pre-approval in COINS. Exceeding the yearly hourly limit should only be done in extraordinary cases. Exceeding the annual hourly limit is considered an exception to policy AC80 and requires a higher level of review from the Dean and the Office of the Provost.
Additional Guidance and Resources
Student or Staff Involvement
AC80 requires prior-approval if faculty plan to involve students or University staff in the outside activity. The most important consideration when involving students is ensuring students’ academic progress is not impeded and that they do not feel pressured to spend too much time with the activity, or to come to a specific research result that is favorable to a company in which the faculty member has a financial interest. Before requesting prior-approval, faculty should consider the following:
- Does the activity involve a significant time commitment for the student that could impact their academic progress?
- Students should be fairly compensated or receive credit for their time and effort.
- If you are the student’s adviser, the student may need to have a co-adviser depending on the nature of the student’s involvement.
- Students should not be required to perform any activities related to a faculty member’s outside activity.
- Students, staff, and faculty should not use University resources such as phone, email, computer, scientific equipment, or lab or office space for work related to the outside activity.
- Staff and students are not permitted to use University time or resources on outside activity.
- If University staff intend to conduct work on an outside activity during University hours, they will likely need to use paid time off, or reach an agreement with their supervisor to do so.
Starting a Company and Other Entrepreneurial Activities
Faculty should complete the prior-approval form in COINS prior to filing the documents with a state to create a new company. Considerations for starting a new company include:
- If the company is intending to license intellectual property from the University, be sure to contact the Office of Technology Transfer.
- Once the entity is legally formed, disclose in COINS within 30 days even if it is not yet operational or earning revenue.
- Before you conduct any research at the University that is related to the company, you must disclose your ownership interest in COINS and be in contact with the COI Program.
- The time limits under policy AC80 apply to work on start-up companies.
Teaching for an Entity Other than the University
Per policy AC80, you must request prior approval in COINS for teaching a semester-long or equivalent course during your Appointment Period. You must also then disclose the outside teaching in COINS within 30 days of starting the activity (typically the start date on your contract).
- If the entity is a foreign university, you should review the Guidance for International Activities section of the Research Security Program website.
- Consider whether the course you are teaching is or could be in direct competition with a course taught at the University. If so, teaching this course may not be permitted.
- Teaching at another entity during a paid sabbatical is not permitted unless it is part of the approved sabbatical plan or pre-approved under AC80.
Additional Policies
AC80 – Outside Professional Activities and Conflict of Commitment
RP06 – Disclosure and Management of Significant Financial Interests (*Note – this does not apply to teaching faculty, lecturers, or instructors, unless they are engaged in research)
FN14 – Use of University Tangible Assets, Equipment, Supplies and Services
- IP06 – Technology Transfer and Entrepreneurial Activity (Faculty Research) (Formerly RA12)
- ACG15 – Regulations Regarding Use of Support Funds and Receiving Outside Compensation During Sabbatical Leaves of Absence
Conflict of Interest (COI) Program and Reporting
The University’s Conflict of Interest (COI) and Outside Activities Program within the Office for Research Protections (ORP) oversees the disclosure and prior approval process in COINS for faculty engagement in outside professional activities as defined by policy AC80 Outside Professional Activities and Conflict of Commitment. Required disclosures of outside activities and prior approval requests are completed in COINS and reviewed by COI staff. Aggregated data is reported yearly to the Provost while Deans and Department Heads have access to disclosure and prior approval requests in COINS for their college/unit.
Office for Research Protections
Address
200 Innovation Blvd.
Suite 110
University Park, PA 16802
The Office for Research Protections (ORP) ensures that research at the University is conducted in accordance with federal, state, and local regulations and guidelines that protect human participants, animals, students, and personnel involved with research.