Outside Employment for Faculty

Outside Employment* for Faculty

*”Outside Professional Activities” is a category defined in IU policy UA-17: Conflicts of Interest and Commitment.

"In brief, a ‘conflict of interest’ exists when someone influences university decisions and from that receives personal benefits (primarily financial), or receives undisclosed and unapproved compensation because of their IU affiliation.

A ‘conflict of commitment’ exists when someone is not devoting appropriate amounts of time and attention to their IU responsibilities, and/or is in competition with IU."

Faculty may engage in outside activities, which are not organized or supervised by IU, and which involve compensation that is outside the IU system.

Working on grants that are administered through IU is not “outside employment.”
For 10-month faculty, work for non-IU entities during two summer months is not “outside employment” and there are no restrictions.

Full-time tenure-track faculty are allowed up to one workday per week, or equivalent, on outside professional activities:

“Full-time tenure-track academic appointees shall be permitted to spend, on average, one non-weekend day each week, not including official university holidays, during the period of appointment on outside professional activities.”

Even when allowed, it may not be advisable if it detracts from one's pursuit of promotion. Not all outside employment (even during the 'one day per week') is allowable:

“Academic appointees should avoid conflicts of commitment which arise either when an appointee undertakes outside professional activities that interfere with fulfilling the obligations of the individual’s academic appointment, or when an appointee undertakes, on behalf of another organization, activities that would ordinarily be performed on behalf of Indiana University.”

Faculty should:

Disclose through the Conflict of Interest form (see one.iu.edu) all compensated or pro bono professionally-related outside employment
Not engage in activities which either
- Interfere with the normal expectations of a faculty member, or
- Compete with IU directly and/or duplicate one's exact IU duties, including but not limited to:
  - Teaching online for another university
    - Except for summer work (for 10-month), IU faculty are generally not to teach for other universities unless it is part of an organized, institutional arrangement
  - Conducting research for private entities

Deans and chairs have the right to:

Schedule classes and meetings to serve the primary mission of the unit
- Faculty who have chosen outside employment may not refuse normal academic assignments and must fulfill normal service obligations
Determine that a particular outside employment situation is in direct conflict with IU (“activities that would ordinarily be performed on behalf of” IU)
Incorporate into offer letters specific understandings about outside professional work

Deans and chairs should:

Be sensitive to requests for flexibility as part of faculty retention and engagement
Counsel assistant and associate-ranked faculty as to the impact of external work on progress towards tenure and promotion.

Deans are responsible for ensuring consistent application of outside activity approval.

Reviewed and revised: 10/2023.