Memorandum
University
Date: October 13, 2025
To: CoSW Faculty and Staff
From: Jackie Duron, Associate Dean of Faculty Advancement
CC: Jay Miller, Dean
CC: Matt Moore, Associate Dean
CC: Office of Provost
RE: External Overloads and Consulting
This memorandum provides guidance to College of Social Work faculty regarding consulting and other forms of overload employment outside the University of Kentucky (UK). The intent is to ensure compliance with university regulations, avoid conflicts of interest or commitment, and protect the integrity of faculty work in teaching, research, and service.
Relevant Policies and Regulations
Faculty participation in external professional activities is governed primarily byAdministrative Regulation (AR) 3:9: Consulting and Other Overload Employment and reinforced in the Provost’s annual memo
Related regulations include:
• AR 7:2 – Financial Conflicts of Interest in Research
• AR 7:6 – Intellectual Property Disposition
• AR 7:9 – Institutional Conflicts of Interest Involving Research
• Ethical Principles and Employee Code of Conduct
• AR 10:1 Policy GoverningAccess to and Use of University Information Technology Resources (specifically J, c, xi)
• AR 10:4 Social Media Policies and Guidelines, and the University Web Policy (specifically items III D & F, and 2 B., D., and F).
Faculty Consulting Overview and Parameters
Consulting is the provision of professional advice or services, grounded in one’s academic expertise, to external organizations or entities (government agencies, non-profits, businesses, or other educational institutions).
In general, if the activity involves systematic inquiry, data collection, or program evaluation intended to generate generalizable knowledge, it should be pursued as research effort through UK’s external funding mechanisms (e.g., grants, contracts, subawards) rather than consulting. Such work must comply with sponsored project procedures, IRB protocols, and applicable financial conflict of interest rules.
Conflicts toAvoid
• Conflict of Commitment: When outside activities interfere with teaching, research, service, or student mentoring responsibilities.
• Conflict of Interest: When external engagements benefit a faculty member or their family financially at the expense of UK’s mission or obligations
There are parameters associated with consulting. In general, the tasks:
o Must be professionally relevant and enhance the faculty member’s competence as a teacher, researcher, and scholar.
o Must be time-defined.
NOTE: Consulting is to be undertaken during non-assigned work time and should not interfere with instructional schedules, research obligations, or service responsibilities. Consulting should be limited in scope, typically measured in days or hours per month, to ensure the majority of faculty effort remains with UK. Consulting must have a beginning and end date.
o Must not interfere with or diminish the faculty member’s responsibilities to the University (teaching, research, service).
o Must be approved in advance through the myUK portal (Faculty Overload Form) if it exceeds occasional activity (defined below).
o Communications: Faculty may not use University branding or official affiliation to advertise external consulting. In particular, social media posts, websites, or marketing materials should not give the appearance that external work takes precedence over or competes with primary UK responsibilities.
Other Overload Employment Outside of the University of Kentucky
Overload employment refers to compensated professional services outside of one’s regular UK workload that exceed normal assigned duties. There are parameters associated with these overloads. In general, overloads:
o Require advance approval via the myUK portal before engagement.
o May not create conflicts of commitment (i.e., reducing time/energy available for UK duties).
o May not create conflicts of interest (i.e., personal financial or organizational interests competing with UK’s mission, or use of one’s UK position to advance private interests)
o Cannot involve professional services covered under a University practice plan related to patient care (not typically relevant in Social Work and Criminal Justice)
o Must not use University resources inappropriately (e.g., facilities, intellectual property, or confidential information).
o May not use University branding or official affiliation to advertise external consulting. In particular, social media posts, websites, or marketing materials should not give the appearance that external work takes precedence over or competes with primary UK responsibilities.
Approval Process
For overload consulting activities, there is a clear approval process workflow.
Step 1. Submit request through myUK (Enterprise Services > Workflow > Faculty Overload Form).
Step 2. Request routes through approval sequence:Associate Dean for FacultyAdvancement → Dean → Provost’s Office.
(NOTE: Faculty should provide adequate detail about the external work to expedite review.Approvals typically take 5 business days, but submission at least 2 weeks prior to activity is recommended.)
Step 3. Disclose (via annual disclosure form) all ongoing or compensated consulting work.
Requests that are denied by theAssociate Dean for FacultyAdvancement may be appealed to the Dean.Appeals should adhere to the following steps:
Step 1: Filing theAppeal
• Faculty submits a written appeal to the Dean within 15 business days of denial.
• Appeal must include:
o Statement of the decision being appealed.
o Specific grounds (e.g., misinterpretation of conflict, misunderstanding of workload impact, incomplete information in original request).
o Any supporting documentation (e.g., clarified time commitments, external contract terms, letters of support).
Step 2: Dean’s Review
• Dean reviews:
o Original request and approval chain record.
o Written rationale for denial.
o Faculty’s appeal statement and documentation.
• Dean may request additional information from faculty,Associate Dean for FacultyAdvancement, or external partner if needed.
Step 3: Determination
• Dean issues a written decision within 30 business days of receiving the appeal.
• Decision will:
o Uphold the denial,
o Overturn the denial, or
o Grant conditional approval (with modifications to scope, timeline, or disclosure requirements).
NOTE: Occasional activities that occur no more than four (4) times per year and yield less than $1,000 per instance do not require prior approval. Examples of these activities include giving a lecture, reviewing a manuscript, serving briefly on a professional panel, etc.
Key Takeaways for Faculty
• Consulting and other work outside of the university must be time-bound, secondary, and limited to ensure that University obligations remain the priority.
• Consulting or other work outside of the university that resembles research activity should be pursued as research effort through UK’s external funding and compliance processes.
• Faculty must avoid promoting consulting or secondary work on social media or public platforms in ways that overshadow or conflict with their university responsibilities.
• All full-time faculty must use the myUK portal to disclose and request approval for external employment and consulting (with limited exceptions for occasional, low-compensation activities).
• Faculty should consult with the Office of Faculty Advancement if there is any uncertainty about whether an activity requires approval.
Questions pertaining to this memo should be directed to Jackie Duron,Associate Dean for FacultyAdvancement.