Consulting
This Policy applies to exempt staff and faculty members with appointments of 50% full-time equivalent (FTE) or greater whose appointments are funded at least in part by the State of Maryland. These University Employees are eligible to engage in Consulting and their activities must align with this Policy.
Who does the Consulting Policy apply to?
Graduate Students are not subject to this Policy, and they may engage in Consulting. However, Graduate Students who work on Sponsored Projects are subject to the COI/COC Policy and must submit a Disclosure on their Consulting activities in accordance with the provisions in the COI/COC Policy and/or Funding Agency requirements for Sponsored Projects.
Non-exempt staff, regardless of FTE, and University Employees with FTEs of less than 50% are not subject to this Policy.
Who does the Consulting Policy not apply to?
Can I bank Consulting Days?
Banking of Consulting Days is allowed for both full-time and part-time University Employees with prior approval of the University Employee’s Unit Head. Please see the Consulting Policy for additional information on banking.
What is the weekly time limit for a University employee to engage in Consulting?
What is not considered consulting?
Activities that benefit UMD are typically considered professional service and are not considered Consulting. When in doubt, please contact inTERP@umd.edu for assistance.
Are Moonlighting activities considered consulting, and do they need to be disclosed?
Moonlighting by University employees is not considered consulting and is generally excluded from the Consulting Policy. However, any moonlighting activities performed for foreign entities—including foreign universities, governments, or companies—must be disclosed to the University to comply with federal regulations.
What is an MOU?
The Consulting Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) seeks to remind University Employees of their compliance obligations to the University, USM, and the Maryland SEC. All University Employees engaging in Consulting must sign the Consulting MOU, abide by its specifications, and share the Consulting MOU with the External Entity with which they are engaged. The MOU is part of the inTERP disclosure and can be found here. This is now a one and done - it can be downloaded as needed.
I have checked Consulting in the Disclosure form. What do I need to do?
- Create an entity for the consulting
- Answer the questions regarding the entity
- Scroll down to the Activity Relationship Information box
- Click “Paid or Unpaid Activity" and then "Consulting".
- Scroll down and answer the Consulting-specific questions
- Click the link to the MOU - this will take you to a new window
- Read/sign the MOU
- Go back to your disclosure
- Select “Yes” that you have read/signed the MOU and type in your name for “Completed MOU Attestation Link” and select your name to link the MOU to your disclosure
Faculty may undertake Consulting up to one (1) day per calendar week (equivalent to 8 hours), across all consultancy agreements, during the period for which they provide the service, so long as the faculty member is appropriately meeting all University obligations as determined through unit-level reviews, and with the approval of their Unit Head.
Per the University’s Consulting Policy employees entering into a Consulting or related agreement with an external entity/company must sign an internal Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
The electronic version is found here. This new system is the official system of record for all internal Consulting MOUs.