Overall Rating Bronze
Overall Score 40.80
Liaison Karen Marin-Hines
Submission Date Feb. 26, 2021

STARS v2.2

Texas Tech University
IN-1: Academy-Industry Connections

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.25 / 0.50 Jessica Bunyard
Analyst
BIMAR
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution require that all significant consulting contracts be reported to a standing committee charged with reviewing and managing individual and institutional conflicts of interest?:
Yes

The policy language that requires that all significant consulting contracts be reviewed for conflicts of interest:

(1) Annual Disclosure
All employees and other individuals holding or planning to submit for external funding within the academic year shall disclose to the IFDC and AVPR, by October 1 of each year, the following significant business or financial interests, including interests of their spouse and dependent relatives or household members:
(a) Any significant business or financial interest that would reasonably appear to be affected by the research or educational activities funded, or proposed for funding, by an external sponsor; or
(b) Any significant business or financial interest in an entity whose business or financial interest would reasonably appear to be affected by the research or educational activities funded, or proposed for funding, by an external sponsor.
Employees who have no significant business or financial interests as described above shall submit a certification to that effect.

Examples of Significant Business or Financial Interests Include:
(a) An equity interest that, when aggregated for the investigator and the investigator's spouse and dependent relatives or household members, (1) exceeds $5,000 in value, as determined through reference to public prices or other reasonable measures of fair market value; or (2) represents more than a 5 percent ownership interest in any single entity; or
(b) Salary, royalties, gifts such as paid travel or other payments that, when aggregated for the investigator and the investigator's spouse and dependent relatives or household members, are expected to exceed $5,000 from any single entity during the next 12-month period.


Does the institution prohibit faculty, staff, students, postdoctoral fellows, medical residents, and other academic professionals from engaging in industry-led “ghostwriting” or “ghost authorship”?:
No

The policy language that prohibits industry-led “ghostwriting” or “ghost authorship”:
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Does the institution prohibit participation in sponsored research that restricts investigator access to the complete study data or that limits investigators’ ability to verify the accuracy and validity of final reported results?:
No

The policy language that prohibits sponsored research that restricts investigator access or verification:
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Does the institution ban confidential corporate research?:
Yes

The policy language that bans confidential corporate research:

TTU requires significant business above $5,000 to be reported to a committee for review of conflict of interests. The OP also classifies research that cannot be published as an unacceptable conflict of interest. “Consulting under arrangements that impose obligations that conflict with the university's intellectual property policy or with the university's obligations to research sponsors or that inhibit the publication of research results obtained within the university.”

The AVPR shall be responsible for all reporting requirements to external agencies. These include the following:
(1) The AVPR will sign institutional certifications required in proposals.
(2) The AVPR will report the existence of a conflict and its management plan to the VPR.
(3) The AVPR will notify the sponsoring agency in the event an employee has failed to comply with the university's policy.
(4) The AVPR will notify the sponsoring agency in the event that TTU is unable to manage a conflict of interest satisfactorily.
(5) In the event a conflict of interest is identified after the expenditure of funds under an award, the AVPR will, within 60 days of identifying the conflict (less time if required by the sponsoring agency), notify the agency of the existence of the conflict and assure that the conflict has been managed, reduced to an acceptable level, or eliminated.
(6) Upon request from any sponsoring agency or other authorized government entity, the AVPR will provide information regarding all conflicting interests identified by TTU and describe how those interests have been managed, reduced to an acceptable level, or eliminated.
(7) In the event that an investigator fails to comply with the university's conflict of interest policy and has biased the design, conduct, or reporting of an externally funded project, the AVPR will notify the agency of corrective action taken.


Website URL where information about the institution’s policies regarding industry-sponsored research is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.