Conflict of Interest (COI) Committee

Authority: Business Affairs
Date Enacted or Revised: N/A

The Conflict of Interests Committee (COI) reviews information if an initial determination is made that there may be a potential for conflict of interest by a McNeese State University member. Committee members are appointed by the vice president for business affairs. The committee is comprised of faculty from a cross section of academic disciplines that can add to the discussion of issues of management or research such as philosophy, nursing, social science, science, engineering, senior faculty members who are active in research, as well as those with some experience in consulting relationships and industry sponsored research or start-up companies. Additionally, the committee will include the internal auditor as a resource member. Primary responsibilities of the COI are evaluation of the disclosure and approval of the management plan or conditional approval with amendments, as well as monitoring management plans for the purposes of overseeing compliance with the conflict of interest and conflict of commitment policy. The responsibilities of monitoring may include 1) reviewing publications and presentations for accurate disclosure and/or data integrity; 2) meeting with the primary investigator of the research project and the scientific collaborators, and the responsible department head/dean on an as-needed basis; 3) reporting to the appropriate vice president/president at least annually with respect to the management of the conflicts; and 4) reporting any significant concerns it identifies to the appropriate vice president/president immediately. A record keeping system will be maintained for all disclosures.