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Humanities and Social Sciences 
Faculty and Staff Resources

External Activities for Pay

Definitions

External professional activities for pay means any activity for pay based on your expertise and position with the university. Activities for pay not involving such professional knowledge, experience and abilities are not subject to the advance disclosure and approval requirements of this policy, although they are subject to the basic requirement that outside activities of any type not result in neglect of primary university duties, conflicts of commitment or interest, inappropriate uses of the university name or resources, or claims of university responsibility for the activity.

Inappropriate use or exploitation of university resources means the un-reimbursed use, for other than university employment responsibilities, of facilities, equipment, supplies or personnel which members of the general public may not freely use unless such use is expressly authorized by state law, or by UNC or NC State University policy or regulation.

Notice of Intent (NOI) Guidance

Filing a notice of intent (NOI) is a requirement that protects the individual and the university from conflicts of commitment, which occur when the pursuit of an external activity involves an investment of time that interferes with an employee’s work obligations. 

Use the following guidelines to determine whether you need to file a notice of intent:

  • I receive payment for reviewing a book chapter? YES
  • I receive an honorarium from any agency to review proposals? YES
  • I receive an honorarium for participation in a workshop? YES
  • I receive travel reimbursement or travel paid on my behalf (no honorarium)? YES
  • I receive books (or anything of value) in exchange for providing services to an external organization? YES
  • I am asked to participate in one of the above while on scholarly reassignment? NO*
  • I am awarded a fellowship and take a scholarly reassignment? NO

In any situation above where travel is required, you should also complete a travel authorization.

Approval is required by Department Head to ensure employee is not overly committed to an outside entity, to ensure any conflicts are properly managed, and to be aware of potential intellectual property that could be created.

* Scholarly Reassignment request must be updated to reflect any external activities for pay during reassignment.

Additional NOI Reminders

  •  The university must submit an annual report to UNC-GA on an annual basis of all external activities for pay.
  •  Must be submitted for any amount of compensation
  •  Advance reporting is required at least ten (10) days in advance of commencing such activity
  •  If you didn’t know you would receive something of value until the event, submit an NOI after the fact with an explanation.
  •  Reporting is accomplished by completing the Notice of Intent (NOI) to Engage in Professional Activities for Pay (https://research.ncsu.edu/sparcs/systems-portal/coi/)
  •  If activity also creates a conflict of interest, you must also complete a new COI.
  •  If activity crosses academic years, you must complete a new NOI each new academic year.
  •  These regulations may not apply to EHRA employees serving on academic year (9 month defined as August 16 through May 15) contracts, if the external professional activity for pay is wholly performed and completed outside of the academic year and the activity does not conflict with the policy statements of NC State or Board of Governors and is not conducted concurrently with a contract service period for teaching, research, or other services to the institution during a summer session.

What this means:

  • If you are not being paid by NC State during the summer for additional duties/work in the summer and the consulting work will be performed wholly in the summer, you do not need to complete an NOI.
  • If you receive any additional payments in the summer from NCSU, you must complete an NOI for consulting.

Dual Employment

Dual employment occurs when one state agency or university secures the services of an EHRA or SHRA employee of another state agency on a part-time, consulting, or contractual basis.

Any compensation to the employee must be paid by the parent agency. The borrowing agency is not authorized to make direct payment to full-time permanent employees of another State agency.

An employee under contract to an educational institution for an academic year (normally nine months) is ordinarily considered a “free agent” during the summer, notwithstanding that such employee may be paid on a twelve-month basis.

What this means:

  • If you consult for another state agency during academic year, the other state agency needs to pay you via dual employment. The amount paid is part of the 20% of additional pay you can earn on 9-month contract. You do not need to complete an NOI.
  • If you consult for another state agency during the summer, the other state agency needs to pay you via dual employment. If you are receiving any form of additional payment from NCSU during the summer, you also need to complete an NOI.