This guidance is issued to provide interpretation of Faculty Handbook Section 8.1.1 Consulting Policy. The policy states that “Full-time faculty members may be allowed to consult and/or be involved in appropriate continuing education and public service activities for extra compensation a maximum of one workday per week with the consent of their department head/chair and appropriate dean or director.”
All faculty should be familiar with the full policy; this guidance is not intended to cover all possible scenarios or answer all questions. Faculty should begin all discussions about extramural work with their supervisor (e.g., chair, head, director) before reaching out to other units.
Guidance:
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The policy requires that faculty receive permission for consulting using the online Faculty Application for Permission to Engage in Private Consulting form at least five working days prior to the consulting.The Faculty Consulting form can be accessed via this link: https://tigermailauburn.sharepoint.com/sites/FacultyConsulting.
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By policy definition, consulting is extramural and for extra compensation. If a faculty member is not receiving extra compensation, then the faculty member does not have to report the activity as consulting but may need to account for the activity on the annual Conflict of Interest reporting form.
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The policy’s allowance for a maximum of one work-day per week for consulting does not include work done after hours and on non-workdays (such as weekends) or during the summer terms if the faculty member does not have a summer appointment. Also, the “one day per week” can be accumulated so that a faculty member can use several days at once such as leading a three-day workshop engagement. The activity should still be submitted for approval, however, regardless of whether it takes place outside of the allowed hours, within the allowed hours, or exceeds the allowed hours with special permission from the faculty member’s Dean and the Provost.
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Teaching for credit courses for another university is not consulting; it is a concurrent appointment and is covered in Section 8.1.2 Concurrent Appointments in the Faculty Handbook.
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Work such as serving as a journal editor could be consulting (if paid) or it could simply be considered part of the faculty member’s service requirement.
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Work such a grant reviewing for a granting agency could be consulting (if paid) or it could simply be considered part of the faculty member’s service requirement.
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The form should be submitted once each semester per entity that consulting is occurring, because teaching loads can change between semesters.
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The Consulting Policy applies to all levels of faculty (assistant, associate, full, clinical, adjunct, instructor, lecturer, etc.), and therefore all faculty must comply with the policy and guidelines.
Approved 10-15-2021 by the Office of Audit-Compliance-Privacy after review and edits by the Senate Executive Committee.
