What is the defined process for getting new faculty in the system and reminding existing faculty and others to complete a new disclosure?

Individual departments must designate administrative personnel who will be responsible for coordinating FCOI at the departmental level. These individuals will be given admin permissions in COI-Smart which will allow them to add users to the system, assign disclosures to investigators, and search disclosure completion dates.

Contact the Conflict of Interest Officer (coi@okstate.edu) to have administrative personnel added to the system.

There are a lot of other people who need to do a disclosure besides faculty. What is that process?

Sponsored Programs Disclosures under OSU policy 4-0130: COI-Smart is to be used for sponsored programs COI disclosures only.  Department-level administrators can add faculty, staff, and students who are involved in sponsored programs to the COI-Smart system as needed.

General COI Disclosures required by the OSU/A&M Board of Regents’ Ethics Policy: General COI disclosures are required when an individual OSU person makes business, policy or other decisions from which he/she may directly or indirectly receive a substantial benefit. These disclosures are to be made promptly when a potential conflict is identified and submitted to the immediate supervisor of the person with a potential conflict. The form is available here, although colleges and departments may wish to create an online form utilizing the same questions.

Have we moved to calendar disclosures and not fiscal year disclosures? How/when are people notified to do a new disclosure? 

All administrators, faculty, staff, post-doctoral fellows and students who apply for, receive or serve as key personnel on a sponsored program must submit a disclosure questionnaire via the COI-Smart system before proposal submission and at least annually during the period of award. Updates to Disclosures must be submitted within 30 days of discovering or acquiring a new financial interest.

General reminders for sponsored programs disclosures are sent according to the following schedule:

Spears School of Business – June
Veterinary Medicine – July
Arts and Sciences – August
Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources – September
Education and Human Sciences – September
Engineering, Architecture, and Technology - October
Others (not listed above) - June

Who is responsible for using COI-Smart?

Departments with faculty/staff/students who apply for and/or perform sponsored research or programs are required to use the system for submission of sponsored programs COI disclosures.

COI-Smart messages come from a “.com” email address.  Can this be changed to an “@okstate.edu” address so that it doesn’t appear to be spam?

Unfortunately, this email address is part of the COI-Smart software and cannot be changed.

Many existing faculty are missing. Also, faculty that have left are still showing.  What reports are available?

Department administrators are responsible for adding individuals who need to complete the COI disclosure for sponsored programs and for removing individuals who are no longer associated with OSU.

Click here for instructions on running a report of all users associated with a chosen college of department.

How do we track COI training for Public Health Service agencies (including NIH)?

COI training dates can be retrieved from the CITI Training webpage. Click here for instructions on gaining administrative access to the CITI Training Program.

How do we answer routing questions about if a conflict exists and if it’s resolved or if an update has been submitted?

Investigators and research staff should answer the questions about conflicts of interest in Cayuse (soon to be launched) and work with the  Conflict of Interest Officer to meet the funding agency requirements related to COI. The Conflict of Interest Officer can be reached at coi@okstate.edu or by phone by calling University Research Compliance at 405-744-1676. Also, information about COI managements plans will be available to Associate Deans for Research via COI-Smart.

Will COI-Smart allow us to keep all departmental COI information in one place?

This software is only for sponsored programs COI; departments should maintain or develop a process for other General COI disclosures handled at the department or college level.