Reportable Outside Activity Disclosure Guidelines
The following guidelines are provided to assist faculty and staff members in determining whether they have a Reportable Outside Activity and in completing the disclosure. In addition, the guidelines provide department and unit heads with detailed instructions on how to complete a review.
Guidelines for Faculty and Staff Members Who are Submitting the Reportable Outside Activity (ROA) Disclosure
Q1. Who needs to submit the ROA disclosure?
Q2. When should an ROA disclosure be submitted?
Q4. When is consulting an activity that requires disclosure?
Q5. Is running for a political office an activity that requires disclosure?
Q6. How do I log in and submit a Reportable Outside Activity for review?
Q8. How do I explain how the days will be distributed?
Q9. Should I retain a copy of the ROA disclosure for my records?
Q10. What if I submit a ROA disclosure in error?
Q11. How many ROA disclosures should I submit?
Q14. How can I determine the status of my submission?
Information for Department and Unit Heads Who Are Reviewing the Reportable Outside Activity (ROA) disclosure
Q16. How will I know I have something to review?
Q17. What should I do if the disclosure involves some type of international involvement?
Q18. How do I log in and conduct a review?
Q19. Should I make a copy of the ROA disclosure for my records?
Q20. What if I need more information from the person who submitted the disclosure?
Q21. What if a ROA disclosure was submitted in error?
Q22. Can a faculty or staff member see any of the comments I posted during my review?
Q23. What if I am leaving the University?
Q24. Additional Department and Unit Head Questions
Instructions for Faculty and Staff Members Who are Submitting the Reportable Outside Activity (ROA) disclosure
Q1. Who needs to submit the ROA disclosure?
- Exempt Employees are required to disclose and receive permission for Reportable Outside Activities before beginning the activity.
The term Exempt Employee includes employees of Purdue, wherever located, and whether full-time or part-time, including but not limited to all executive officers, faculty and exempt staff, and graduate student employees, including those on leave of absence with or without pay, who are exempt from the requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
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Nonexempt staff members (paid hourly), including police, fire, and skilled trade positions: These individuals are required to submit a disclosure and receive permission before engaging in a Reportable Outside Activity that may interfere with their normal University responsibilities, that will take place during the employee’s normal work hours. Outside employment or activities that take place during off hours or during leave time will, in most cases, not divert attention from University duties and do not need to be disclosed.
Q2. When should an ROA disclosure be submitted?
Disclosures must be submitted prior to engaging in any new Reportable Outside Activity and at the beginning of each fiscal year, thereafter, even if it is a renewal of a previously approved activity. Such disclosures may be more frequent if the scope and/or nature of an existing outside activity is altered or approval of a new Reportable Outside Activity is being requested.
Q3. If the activity has been approved previously, do I need to include it again on a Reportable Outside Activity disclosure renewal?
Yes. At the start of a new Fiscal Year (July 1)
Example: Professor Smith wishes to perform consulting for ABC Corporation. The consulting runs from 3:00pm Sunday to 12:00pm Tuesday in each January, April, July, and September. After the fiscal year ends on June 30, Professor Smith should submit a disclosure for the July and September obligations.
Example: Professor Jones seeks permission to teach a summer class in Europe. The class will be 3 hours long and meet 3 days a week from June 15 through the beginning of August 7. After the fiscal year ends on June 30, Professor Jones should submit a disclosure for the July - August activity.
Q4. When is consulting an activity that requires disclosure?
Consulting is defined as an employee's use of their professional capabilities and knowledge for the benefit of a third party, in return for immediate or prospective gain. Serving as an expert witness is included under the definition of consulting.
Q5. Is running for a political office an activity that requires disclosure?
Yes. The University has long recognized that faculty and staff have a duty and right as citizens to participate in the political processes of society. Any employee seeking to hold a part-time political office must seek prior approval to engage in the activity. Any employee who accepts or seeks a full-time office must obtain a leave of absence for the period of service or resign from the University. For specific details on running for political office, seethe policy on Political Activities (III.B.4).
Q6. How do I log in and submit a Reportable Outside Activity for review?
- Go to the ROA Form at ecn.purdue.edu/VPEC/ROA. The Reportable Outside Activity Disclosure Database will not be available for entry of new disclosures as of August 8, 2025.
- Log in by typing your Purdue Career Account username and password.
- Select the "My disclosures" tab.
- Select the "Submit a new form" button.
- Complete the form and provide any additional comments you feel are necessary for the Department Head and Unit Head to make an informed decision for each activity. Please note that the system limits you to 20 lines or 2000 characters in the comments box.
- Type your first name, middle initial and last name in the "Signed by" box. Please note: Inserting an electronic signature is prohibited by the system.
- Enter your password in the "Purdue Career Account Password" box.
- If your form is complete and ready to send, select the "Sign and submit for review" button. Select the "Save for later" button if you wish to come back to it for further review and completion.
- If you select the "Save for later" button, your saved form will appear as "Not submitted" on the "My outside activity disclosures" page. Click "Not submitted" link on the left-hand side of the page to continue editing, removing or submitting your form.
The disclosure of Reportable Outside Activities will move to PERA on August 11, 2025. More information to follow.
Q7. How do I complete the "total number of days" during academic year and summer portions of the Reportable Outside Activity disclosure?
For all activity types, list the number of calendar days (including weekends) during the period that you will engage in the activity for any portion of the day. The academic year and summer periods vary slightly from year to year, but the academic year typically runs from mid-August to mid-May.
Example: Professor Smith wishes to perform consulting for ABC Corporation. The consulting runs from Sunday to Tuesday in each January, April, July, and September. Professor Smith also expects to spend two days adjusting an existing presentation for this opportunity. Professor Smith should indicate “11 days” in the field requesting the total number of days during the academic year and “3 days” in the field requesting the total number of days during the summer. Professor Smith should submit a separate disclosure for each fiscal year in which she expects to engage in the consulting, i.e., one for the consulting in January and April and one for the next fiscal year for the activities in July and September.
Example: Professor Singh seeks permission to teach a summer class at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. The class will be 3 hours long and meet 3 days a week from June 15 through August 7. Professor Singh should submit this request under category “E. Other Universities and Research Institutes.” The days per academic year would be “0." The days during the summer would be “24 days.”
Q8. How do I explain how the days will be distributed?
Explain if the activity will occur regularly (daily, weekly, monthly, etc.) or at particular times throughout the year. You may also list specific dates for irregularly occurring activities. You may use the Comment box to describe the time commitment in more detail.
Example: Professor Zhang has an academic year appointment. In September, he is contacted about consulting for ABC Corporation starting in October. The consulting runs from Sunday to Tuesday in each January, April, July, and October for three consecutive years. When Professor Zhang completes the form in September, he should indicate “3 consecutive days (Sunday through Tuesday) each month in October, January, and April” in the field requesting an explanation related to the academic year and “3 consecutive days (Sunday through Tuesday) in July” in the field requesting an explanation related to the summer. After the fiscal year ends on June 30, Professor Zhang should renew the ROA with the same information for the next academic year and the same information for the next summer. Professor Zhang should renew the ROA in the following fiscal year for the last year of the consulting relationship with ABC Corporation.
Example: Professor Jones seeks permission to teach a summer class in Europe. The class will be 3 hours long and meet 3 days a week from June 15 through the beginning of August 7. The days per academic year would be “0." The days during the summer would be “24 days.” After the fiscal year ends on June 30, Professor Jones should renew the form listing the previously approved activity.
Q9. Should I retain a copy of the ROA disclosure for my records?
Since you may choose to either save your document for later review and completion or submit it, you do not need to maintain a hard copy for your records. When you log in to the system, you will always be able to retrieve all of your past submissions.
Q10. What if I submit a ROA disclosure in error?
A faculty or staff member may always withdraw their own Reportable Outside Activity Form request in its entirety, if neither the Department Head nor the Unit Head has taken any action on that submission request. This is done by opening the form and selecting the red "Withdraw this disclosure" button. After an entry has been withdrawn, it will still remain visible on the submission screen. However, it will be permanently labeled as "Withdrawn."
If the Department Head and/or Unit Head is in the process of reviewing a Reportable Outside Activity Form, the form cannot be withdrawn. As a courtesy, contact your Department Head and/or Unit Head to inform them of the issue and note the date that you submitted the erroneous form so they can deny that form., If appropriate, submit a corrected entry for review.
Q11. How many ROA disclosures should I submit?
A faculty or staff member can include all of their current activities on one (1) Reportable Outside Activity disclosure by selecting the "+ Add activity" button under the appropriate activity type. A separate ROA disclosure for each individual activity is discouraged.
Q12. What if I want to submit an additional activity, but I do not want to confuse the reviewer with duplicate items that have already been reviewed for the current fiscal year?
Once you select the "Submit a new form" button, you can add additional activities by selecting the "Add activity" button within any category. If you are concerned that duplicate items will be confusing to the reviewer, you should type, "already [approved/denied] on [insert date]" in the comments box next to each entry that has already been reviewed.
The disclosure is sent to your Department Head for initial review once it is submitted. After the Department Head makes their recommendation, it goes to the Unit Head or the Unit Head’s designee(s). Unit Head is defined by Policy III.B.1 as your "applicable dean, vice chancellor, chancellor, associate or assistant vice president, vice president, executive vice president for business and finance and treasurer, associate or assistant provost, provost, or president who has executive management responsibilities for supervising the employee."
Q14. How can I determine the status of my submission?
If your submission has been approved or denied, you should receive an automatic email notification.
Alternatively, you can always log in to the online Reportable Outside Activity system and select the "My disclosures" tab. You will see the Activity Status appear in the box on the right hand side. It will let you know whether your submission is awaiting review by either your Department or Unit Head or whether it has been approved or denied.
If you need additional information on the status, you must contact either your Department Head or Unit Head directly.
Q15. I have submitted my ROA disclosure. Do I also need to complete a Conflict of Interest Disclosure Statement?
If any of the activities you have disclosed include anything in which you have a financial interest, as defined by Policy III.B.2, you will need to complete a Conflict of Interest Disclosure Statement. For more specific guidance, see the Conflict of Financial Interest frequently asked questions.
Information for Department and Unit Heads Who Are Reviewing Reportable Outside Activity (ROA) Disclosures
Q16. How will I know I have something to review?
When an ROA disclosure is submitted by a faculty or staff member for review, the applicable Department Head, Unit Head, or official designee will receive an email notification that a new outside activity is in the queue, awaiting review. An email notification will occur every seven (7) days. Although an email notice will be sent only once a week, a reviewer may go into the system more frequently to ensure there is nothing outstanding to review.
Q17. What should I do if the disclosure involves some type of international involvement?
All disclosures that have international involvement, e.g., travel, attendance at a conference personally or virtually, international collaborators, international co-authors, etc. must be forwarded to the OA Officer for review by the Research Security team.
Q18. How do I log in and conduct a review?
- Go to the ROA Form at https://webapps.ecn.purdue.edu/VPEC/ROA
- Log in by typing your Purdue Career Account username and password.
- After you have logged in, select the "Review disclosures" tab on the "My outside activity disclosures" page.
- The name of the individual who made the submission will appear highlighted in blue. Click on the name.
- Scroll to the pale blue box for an activity.
- Select your recommendation or decision and post any applicable comments.
- Repeat steps 5 and 6 for each activity on the form.
- After the review is complete, type your first name, middle initial and last name in the "Signed by" box. Please note: Inserting an electronic signature is prohibited by the system.
- Type your Purdue Career Account password.
- If you are a Department Head, select the blue "Sign and submit for review" button. This will forward the submission to the Unit Head for final review.
- If you are a Unit Head, selecting the "sign and submit" button will conclude the review.
Q19. Should I make a copy of ROA disclosures for my records?
No. The online system will keep track of all submissions and corresponding approvals or denials that have been submitted. Department Heads and Unit Heads will always have access to this data.
Q20. What if I need more information from the person who submitted the disclosure?
Contact the Exempt Employee directly with any additional clarification questions. Once a response is received, the review can be completed. The Department or Unit Head should use the comments box post a summary of information received from the Exempt Employee as a result of the inquiry. A copy of the faculty or staff member’s written response should be retained for your office records.
Q21. What if a ROA disclosure was submitted in error?
A faculty or staff member may always withdraw their own Reportable Outside Activity Form request in its entirety, if neither the Department Head nor the Unit Head has taken any action on that request. However, if it appears that an entry is a duplicate that did not get withdrawn by the faculty or staff member, you should verify this with the employee and "deny" the request submitted in error. Please type, "This form was submitted in error and has been replaced by a subsequent submission" in the comment box as justification for the denial.
Q22. Can a faculty or staff member see any of the comments I posted during my review?
Yes. The faculty or staff member can see all comments posted.
Q23. What if I am leaving the University?
You should continue to review any incoming reportable outside activities until your last day of employment or until a new official Department Head or Interim Head has been appointed, whichever occurs first. Please note: The ROA system will not allow a new Department Head or Interim Head to be reassigned until the change has been made in SuccessFactors.
Q24. Additional Department and Unit Head Questions
For specific inquiries, contact the Office of the Vice President for Ethics and Compliance at vpec@purdue.edu or Deborah Trice at compliance@purdue.edu.