M. Outside Professional Activities

       The following considerations and rules apply to Faculty on full-time appointment. When a Faculty member is on part-time appointment, University obligations, outside activities, and leave of absence arrangements shall be approved by the Dean of the Faculty.

1.    A Faculty member on full-time appointment has a primary obligation to the University, and outside professional activities, whether gainful or not, shall not be allowed to interfere with teaching, scholarly research, and other duties in the department or the University.

2.    During a calendar year (vacation periods excepted), a Faculty member on full-time appointment shall devote an average of no more than one working day a calendar week to outside professional activity during the academic year and portions of the summer for which salary is drawn through the University. The duty terms for part-time service shall be specified clearly at the time of hiring or at the time of moving to part-time service.

3.    The term “outside” refers to professional activities not directly associated with the fulfillment of a Faculty member’s teaching, research, and administrative commitments to the University. Such activities generally bring into play the academic expertise of the Faculty member and often bring professional benefits to the Faculty member and the University. They may or may not involve compensation. Before undertaking such activities, faculty members should satisfy themselves that the activities contribute:

       a.   to teaching and scholarship at Princeton,
       b.   to communicating and applying special knowledge outside the University, and/or
       c.   to furthering the common good.

4.    In outside professional activities, whether compensated or not, a Faculty member shall not:

       a.   violate the University’s patent policy;
       b.   permit an outside agent to have a preferred position with respect to information emanating from University activities.

5.    In outside professional activities, a Faculty member shall not commit University materials, facilities, students, or personnel for the gain or benefit of an outside enterprise. However, limited use may be made of materials, facilities, and secretarial assistance for service to professional societies in the Faculty member’s discipline and in connection with nonpartisan public service. The Chair of the department and the Dean of the Faculty shall be kept informed of such activities. Questions arising out of special circumstances shall be reviewed by the Dean of the Faculty.

6.    In outside professional activities, a Faculty member shall take care not to affect adversely either the Faculty member’s own independence or the integrity of the University. For example, a Faculty member may not accept a regular and continuing position with significant responsibility for the management of an outside enterprise. Also, a Faculty member may not become a regular and continuing employee of any outside organization, either part-time or full-time, or accept any outside position that would tend to create conflicts of interest with the position in the University.

7.     A full-time Faculty member may not teach part-time or full-time on a continuing basis in another institution or hold a regular teaching post or assignment on a continuing basis on the Faculty of another institution. Teaching under the Faculty Exchange Program at Rutgers or at the Princeton Theological Seminary, which involves no overall increase in teaching load or salary income, is an exception to this rule. Acceptance by a Faculty member of a temporary teaching appointment to give a course at an academic institution in the region is subject to approval by the Dean of the Faculty, in line with the policy that Princeton stands ready to assist a neighboring institution which is unable temporarily to fill a regular vacancy or which has a short-term vacancy for such reasons as sickness or leave of absence.

8.    A faculty member who provides by way of a restrictive and specific license extensive course materials in electronic form to any other educational institutions or to businesses aiming to profit from enrollment in their courses may be thereby involved in teaching elsewhere. (One indication of this potential conflict of commitment is that (a) the course materials are available to the public only in connection with a course offered by the educational institutions or businesses who hold the license, and (b) the materials constitute a substantial part of the content of a course at such institutions or businesses.) A faculty member who uses electronic media to engage in ongoing educational interaction with students enrolled in a course offered at another institution or through a business aiming to profit from enrollment in its academic courses, where that interaction represents a substantial part of the content of the course, shall be deemed to be teaching elsewhere. Moreover, even in the absence of ongoing educational interaction, a faculty member shall be deemed to be teaching elsewhere if the faculty member allows himself or herself to be listed as a teacher of a substantial part of a course, electronic or otherwise, offered for credit at another institution or at a business. Uncertainties about the application of these principles should be raised with the Dean of the Faculty and with the Faculty Advisory Committee on Policy. The Dean of the Faculty will report periodically to the Board of Trustees on the ongoing implementation of these policies, and the policies themselves shall be reviewed after a period of about three years.

9.    A Faculty member shall inform the departmental Chair annually, in writing, of all outside professional activities as part of the regular report on scholarly and other activities. A Faculty member shall also consult with the Chair whenever considering significant new outside professional activities. The Chair shall consult with the Dean of the Faculty concerning any exceptions to these rules and forward for consideration any special circumstances that may arise.

10.  Only the Dean of the Faculty may approve exceptions to, or exemptions from, these rules concerning outside professional activities.