(from the March 2001 Research Review)

Enhanced AREPA Form Supports Disclosure Requirements
Improved data entry and approval features aid compliance with Regents policy

The EGMS "A Report of External Professional Activities" (AREPA) is an online version of the paper Form 15 that was used at the University for many years. As in the past, faculty and professional and academic (P &A) staff are required (by the Regents Policy on Conflict of Interest) to complete this form at least once a year. In addition, a new AREPA form must be completed whenever, throughout the year, substantial changes have occurred in the employee's financial or business interests that may pose a potential conflict of interest. Regents policy also requires disclosure of financial or business interests to the University when submitting proposals for sponsored research, when receiving financial contributions, and when involved with technology transfer. Federal guidelines also require such disclosures when submitting research protocols to the Institutional Review Board (IRB).

To facilitate the many required uses of AREPA submissions and to enhance the University community's compliance with Regental and federal policy and regulation, the EGMS AREPA form has been improved to simplify both data entry and form approval. This article provides a reminder of the policies governing potential conflicts of interest and their disclosure, lists the new features of the EGMS AREPA form, and provides a list of resources related to EGMS and the AREPA.

Requirements for AREPA filing

When a faculty or staff member reports external professional activities on the AREPA, the University can ensure that these activities are reviewed and are compatible with the employee's primary duties at the University. If the faculty or staff member indicates on the AREPA that the activities have the potential for a conflict of interest, the University can work with the individual to manage the potential conflict whenever possible. The new online tools, available March, 2001, allow the University to streamline the identification and resolution of potential conflicts of interest.

A faculty or staff member may also file an AREPA form to fulfill the reporting requirements of the Regents Policy on Outside Consulting, Service Activities, and Other Work. Faculty and staff members should use the online ROC (Request for Consultant or Outside Service Agreement; also available through EGMS) form to secure prior approval for consulting and external service, as required by Regents policy.

With the new tools in place, if an individual has filed at least one AREPA during the reporting year (September 1, 2000 - August 31, 2001 for the current year), he or she will not be required to file a form at the end of the reporting year. Those who did not file an AREPA at any time during the year need to submit an end-of-year form (even if there are no external activities to report).

New features of the EGMS AREPA

Data entry simplifications or enhancements:

• EGMS draws appointment information from the PeopleSoft database to fill the required demographic information fields at the top of the form.
• Preparers can now report activities in fractional days.
• EGMS partially fills the required approval names, based on the demographic data at the top of the form. At a minimum, EGMS provides the appropriate collegiate or unit approver. If EGMS provides a blank field for a department head or director approver, the Preparer must enter that data for the form to pass audit.

Approvals, compliance, and form tracking:

• Each time an AREPA has an approval signature attached or is returned to the form's Preparer, EGMS sends both the Preparer and the individual listed at the top of the form an e-mail message regarding the change in the form's status. Faculty and staff who do not want to receive such messages may turn off the EGMS e-mail notification feature.
• Approvers can batch-approve, in a single step, forms on which no external activities are reported. This option, while available for all Approvers, is designed to facilitate the large number of approvals required at the department and collegiate/unit level.
• Approvers can use EGMS to refer a form to another Approver or to the Conflict Resolution Committee for further review prior to affixing their approval signature. This feature provides an electronic version of the business process that had been performed manually with the paper Form 15.
• For collegiate/unit oversight, users can generate reports listing all the forms in a college or unit; users can also conduct searches by reporting year.
• At a later date, EGMS system administrators will initiate a process to delete partially completed AREPAs (with Returned Status) that are more than six months old. This process will improve the quality of data on collegiate or department reports that administrative offices need to generate.

Additional resources

Additional information about the AREPA (including instructions for preparing and reviewing AREPAs using the new features mentioned in this article) is posted on the EGMS Web site, at http://nirvana.ospa.umn.edu/nirvana/form-help/AREPA.html.

For policy-related AREPA questions, contact your department's Human Resources representative. You can find contact information for your representative at http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/st/main/hrpros/bydept.htm.

Regents Policy on Outside Consulting, Service Activities, and Other Work:
http://www1.umn.edu/regents/policies/academic/OutsideConsulting.html

Regents Policy on Conflict of Interest:
http://www1.umn.edu/regents/policies/academic/ConflictofInterest.html

EGMS Home Page:
http://nirvana.ospa.umn.edu

EGMS technical assistance:
612.624.1600
egms@boombox.micro.umn.edu