Proposed changes meant to clarify the process and rules set forth in the Conflict of Interest (COI) Policy were approved during the Feb. 15 joint meeting of the Academic Senate and General Faculty Assembly.

Among the primary changes were the addition of definitions for a “COI management office” and “responsible unit official,” as well as revised definitions for “family,” “investigator” and “responsible representative of the institution.” 

The section on “Disclosure to the Institute” was revised to reflect the use of the online COI disclosure system, and the “Review of Financial Disclosures and Resolution of COI” section was revised to reflect a centralized review process that is conducted by the COI office and that the “responsible unit official” will be involved in COI management.

 In other business, the following topics were addressed:

• A new minor in leadership studies that will be offered by the School of Public Policy and the College of Management was approved, among other programming items.  
• Proposed changes to the procedures followed by the Faculty Status and Grievance Committee were approved. Now, when a formal hearing committee is generated, it will include 25 potential members, rather than 24. Also, if the grievance is related to decisions regarding academic faculty status, the generated list will now consist of only academic faculty of appropriate rank and tenure status.
• Nominations for open faculty governance positions are being accepted through the end of February. Contact Chris D’Urbano at ced@gatech.edu with nominations or questions.
• A revised version of the Student-Faculty Expectations document, which included changes suggested during the Nov. 16 joint meeting, was presented. Plans are to roll the document out to the campus community in the months to come.
• A Good Samaritan provision was added to the Campus Alcohol policy, while changes to the No Hazing and Grade Substitution policies were also approved.