Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 65.54
Liaison C Jane Hagen
Submission Date Sept. 3, 2024

STARS v2.2

Virginia Commonwealth University
IN-1: Academy-Industry Connections

Status Score Responsible Party
n/a 0.00 / C Jane Hagen
Sustainability Data Analyst
Sustainability

Criteria

Institution has published policies or guidelines governing industry-sponsored research that preserve academic freedom, autonomy and integrity, and manage potential conflicts of interest. The policies or guidelines:

  • Require that all significant consulting contracts (e.g., those worth $5,000 or more a year) be reported to a standing committee charged with reviewing and managing individual and institutional conflicts of interest;

  • Prohibit faculty, staff, students, postdoctoral fellows, medical residents, and other academic professionals from engaging in industry-led “ghostwriting” or “ghost authorship”;

  • 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; AND/OR

  • Ban confidential corporate research (i.e., research that cannot be published).

For more information, see Recommended Principles to Guide Academy-Industry Relationships (AAUP).


Applicability

This credit is optional and may be earned by any institution that meets the criteria.


Scoring

An institution earns 0.5 bonus points when it meets all four criteria listed. Partial points are available. An institution that meets at least two of the criteria earns 0.25 points.


Measurement

Report on current policies or guidelines at the time of submission.

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.