Senate Bill 25-26-50
| Bill ID: | 25-26-50 |
| Name: | Revisions to the University of Maryland Policy on Institutional Conflicts of Interest, X-14.00(A) |
| Proposed: | 05/01/2026 |
| Sponsor: | Sarah Hughes, Assistant Director of Research Policy Compliance |
| Proposal: | In May 2025, the Office of the President and the Division of Research created and approved technical updates to the University of Maryland Policy on Institutional Conflicts of Interest (X-14.00[A]) (“the ICOI Policy”). The ICOI Policy is subordinate to the University of Maryland Policy on Conflict of Interest and Conflict of Commitment (II-3.10[A]) (“the COI/COC Policy”), which was significantly revised in May 2025, and technical updates to the ICOI Policy were required to bring the two policies into alignment. The proposal states that, because the changes were urgently needed, the Division of Research did not have time to complete a holistic review of the policy or consider addressing broader issues in the policy. Beginning in summer 2025, the Division of Research undertook a broader review of the policy, finding additional areas of the policy that needed substantive revision due to changes in state and federal laws, regulations, and funding agency requirements as well as process changes given the move to inTERP. The ICOI Policy focuses on situations where University officials can commit the University’s significant financial resources or prestige to an endeavor. The ICOI Policy seeks to prevent institutional conflicts of interest (ICOIs), where a University official might affect, or appear to affect, the objectivity of institutional processes or decisions related to research, teaching, outreach, or administration. The proposal shares that, in its holistic review, the Division of Research had an opportunity to devise a new process for ICOI disclosures and reviews, based on the existing workflow within inTERP. The proposal states that, because all University employees and University officials are now reporting through inTERP, there is no longer a need for a separate secondary disclosure by University officials for the purposes of an ICOI review. In addition, because of the information available in the system, the information the ICOI Committee needs to request in order to have appropriate context for the review has changed. As a result, the policy was revised to align with new processes and to clarify what information needs to be made available to the committee. The proposal suggests that the Research Council should be charged with this review because they have an existing charge on reviewing this policy related to technical updates made to the policy in May 2025: Senate Document #25-26-16, Updates to the University of Maryland Policy on Institutional Conflicts of Interest, X-14.00(A). The proposal suggests that, for ease of reference and streamlined recordkeeping, the Senate Executive Committee may want to consider consolidating the review under one Senate Document Number by closing item #25-26-16 and combining those charge items into a new charge for this review. |
| Active? | Yes |
| Policy: | https://policies.umd.edu/miscellaneous-policies/university-of-maryland-policy-on-institutional-conflicts-of-interest |
| Related Bills: |
Status
| Status: | Under Review |
| Reviewer: | Research Council |
| Received: | 2026-06-15 |
| Actions: | The Research Council will review the new proposal and updated charge. |
| Status: | Complete |
| Reviewer: | Senate Executive Committee (SEC) |
| Received: | 2026-05-01 |
| Decision Date: | 2026-05-08 |
| Decision: | The SEC voted to charge the Research Council with the review of the proposal, Updated Interim University of Maryland Policy on Institutional Conflicts of Interest, X-14.00(A), (Senate Document #25-26-50); close Senate Document #25-26-16; and combine the charge elements from Senate Document #25-26-16 with the charge document for Senate Document #25-26-50. |
| Actions: | The SEC will review the proposal at their meeting on May 8, 2026. |
| Next Step: | Research Council review |
| Related Files: |