Conflict of Interest

Our Conflict of Interest Policy

Liberty University aims to create a culture of transparency and accountability by strengthening communication and trust between ourselves and our employees. We encourage employees to uphold their responsibilities and to communicate any situation where their connections to external organizations, whether financial or personal, might lead to actual or perceived conflicts of interest or commitment.

The Conflict of Interest Summary, Policy & FAQs aims to provide employees with a place to communicate their potential conflicts alongside guidance on recognizing and addressing such conflicts in a timely and appropriate manner.

Conflict of Interest

A Conflict of Interest is any employee supervising others, dealing with financial matters (including employees with financial permissions), or has a role designated by the President or Chief Financial Officer. Furthermore, if you have family working here or own a stake in a company looking to do business with us, we kindly ask that you disclose these situations. Maintaining transparency will help us uphold trust and integrity in all our endeavors.

What do I need to disclose?

At Liberty, we encourage employees to exercise good judgment, demonstrate dedication to their work, and uphold ethical standards. This contributes to the overall welfare of both individuals and the institution.

Disclosure examples include:

• Managers and employees with permissions to systems with financial data (Banner Finance, Softdocs, Formfusion, LU Disburser, Infor, BBTS, Blackline, Anaplan, Touchnet, Jaggaer)
• Supervisory responsibility, finance-related approval or processing authority, and any other position otherwise designated by the President or Chief Financial Officer
• Family members that are in supervisory roles over another family member
• An employee holding shares or financial stake in a company that seeks to work with the University
• Providing services to other institutions of higher education or K-12 school (except adjunct faculty who teach in an adjunct capacity for other higher education institutions)
• Compensated or uncompensated business leadership roles related to your Liberty University expertise
• Serving as an expert witness or legal consultant

Conflict of Commitment

A Conflict of Commitment happens when external obligations begin to interfere with your responsibilities here. While we don’t typically worry about Conflicts of Interest, we do want to pay attention to outside professional commitments that have the possibility of encroaching on your Liberty responsibilities. Our aim is to understand any circumstances that could impact your work life here at the University, so we can offer improved support to our staff.

What Commitments Should I Report?

Disclosures should include:

• Second jobs or side work that might interfere with your job
• Financial interests or business relationships
• Conducting any research that is not coordinated through Liberty University
• Gifts received by fellow employees or managers (exceeding $75)
• Extracurricular commitments that are done within business hours (Church leadership, Community Engagements, etc.)

Support

Our Human Resources team is always available to help. For issues with the form please submit a ticket. If you have questions concerning the process, please visit our office hours or contact us using the options below