Ohio Administrative Code › Title 3344 - Cleveland State University › Chapter 3344-11 - Appointment of Leadership › Section 3344-11-04 - Conflict of interest

Current through all regulations passed and filed through July 1, 2024
While faculty are expected to act according to the highest
				standards of professional ethics, conflicts of interest may arise to varying
				degrees in numerous situations. Traditional safeguards and the good conscience
				of individual faculty members may be relied upon to maintain high ethical
				standards, yet in the areas of faculty activity described in this rule, the
				overall perception of total fairness is deemed so important that specific
				safeguards are given:
(A) Nepotism.
No person shall initiate or participate in any decision
				involving a direct benefit (e.g., initial appointment, continuance of
				non-tenured appointment, promotion, tenure, salary increment, leave of absence)
				to a member of their immediate family (here defined as spouse, parent, child,
				or sibling). Where such a relationship exists, the provost shall approve a
				procedure that shall eliminate such related person from any role in direct
				benefit decisions affecting the other related person. The president shall
				replace the provost in the function described in this rule if the provost is
				involved in a direct benefit decision affecting a member of the provost's
				immediate family.
(B) Other
			 relationships.
Conflicts of interest may arise in other situations which do
				not involve a relationship involving an immediate family member identified in
				paragraph (A) of this rule. Such situations could include, but are not limited
				to members of the extended family, an ex-spouse, or a current (or ex-) partner,
				or a current (or ex-) fiance(e). Other examples could include a financial
				relationship in which financial concerns are present. Individuals in these
				situations should inform the provost and the provost shall make the final
				determination of the individual's ability to participate in the decisionmaking
				process. The president shall replace the provost in the function described in
				this rule if the provost is the involved person.
(C) Faculty awards and internal research
			 grants.
No faculty member seeking, or having been nominated for,
				internal research grants or any other award in recognition of excellence or
				outstanding performance shall use their authority or
				influence with the university to affect the outcome of their case. Such a
				faculty member may serve on the evaluating committee, but shall not
				participate in any deliberations or decisions made by the evaluating committee
				on their particular case. Appropriate safeguards shall
				be put into place by the evaluating committee to prevent the faculty member
				from indirectly influencing their case, for instance through inside information
				or through artificially lowering the assessment of competing cases.
(D) Personnel actions.
(1) No faculty member seeking, or having been
			 nominated for, tenure and/or promotion shall participate in any deliberations
			 or decisions made by the same peer review committee (or personnel action
			 committee), college peer review committee, university peer review committee or
			 university personnel committee during the academic year in question. Agreement
			 to serve on such a committee shall be construed as agreement not to receive
			 direct benefit from decisions made by the committee.
(2) No faculty member shall participate in
			 the discussion and/or vote in a given personnel action both at the university
			 personnel committee (UPC) level or university peer review committee (UPRC)
			 level and at either the college or departmental peer review committee (PRC)
			 level. If the entire faculty of a college constitutes its PRC, the conflict of
			 interest provision would be invoked only when a UPC member or a UPRC member has
			 been delegated a substantial role other than as a voting member of the body in
			 the evaluation process at an earlier stage. The faculty member shall choose at
			 which level to participate.