Academic Leadership Toolkit

Outside Activity

 

Overview:

“Outside Activity” shall mean any private practice, private consulting, additional teaching or research, or other activity, compensated or uncompensated, which is not part of the faculty member’s assigned duties and for which the University has provided no compensation. (FSU BOT-UFF Agreement, Article 19)

 

Goals:

  • To ensure that any and all outside activity (e.g., consulting, private practice, additional teaching, etc.) undertaken by a faculty member is free from conflict with the public interests of the University.
  • To ensure that engaging in such outside activity will not interfere with the faculty member’s full performance of their assigned responsibilities.

 

Authority and Responsibility:

  • The faculty member is responsible for disclosing clear details regarding proposed outside activities and working with their chair/supervisor to resolve any potential conflicts or interference.
  • The chair/supervisor is responsible for reviewing each Faculty Outside Activity Statement and working with the faculty member to mitigate any potential conflicts or interference. At any point, the chair/supervisor may ask the faculty member for additional information needed to make a determination regarding the feasibility of the proposed outside activity.
  • Final reviews are performed by the Vice President for Faculty Development and Advancement, whose office coordinates the process.

 

Common Pitfalls:

  • Not providing enough detail regarding the proposed outside employment.
  • Chairs may reject a faculty member’s request to perform outside employment, if they determine that an unavoidable conflict exists.

 

Resources: