Conflict of Interest in Educational Materials Adoption Policy

While it is necessary to establish some procedures to comply with the University's policy on "Conflict of Interest in Educational Materials Adoption Policy" this act should not be interpreted as discouraging the adoption of faculty members' published materials for their courses. The use of their own published works as adopted course requirements should be based on the merit and usefulness of the materials. The proposed procedures should provide some degree of protection against claims of "conflict of interest" or "impropriety." It is within the spirit and context of the above that the following procedures are proposed:

  1. Should faculty members stand to gain more than $100 during a 12-month period from the sale of their own published materials required for student purchase in their own courses, they must first receive the approval of the relevant chairperson and the School of Education Curriculum Committee. In seeking approval, the faculty members shall establish in writing the merits and appropriateness of the materials. This procedure is also applicable when faculty members adopt for course requirements the published materials of another faculty member.
  2. When educational materials have not been formally published or copyrighted but have been adopted and duplicated as course requirements, faculty members may not receive financial consideration beyond the actual cost of duplication. Such practices do not need formal approval.