(Excerpted from the Faculty Handbook Appendix E).
The progress and academic standing of students and trainees must never be compromised. Employees supervising students and trainees must inform them in writing of the source(s) of their funding support, disposition of intellectual property, management of proprietary information, and handling of publication rights prior to assigning the students or trainees to a Research or training project supported by a Company.
A student’s academic program cannot be supported by a Company in which the supervising Employee has Equity, serves on a Board, or serves as an Operating Officer or Scientific Officer, unless specifically approved in writing by the Dean of the Graduate College and the Senior Vice President and Provost. If approved, support (e.g., stipends, tuition, salary, scholarships) for students and trainees provided by Companies must comply with all of the following provisions:
- The College department, program, or unit approves the recipient;
- The funds are provided to the University;
- The recipient is not subject to any implicit or explicit expectation of providing or foregoing something in return for the support; i.e., a “quid pro quo”; and
- The Company does not withhold or unreasonably limit publication of the student’s research.
University trainees and students may not be employed by any Company to conduct Research that overlaps with their University training or academic program. In addition, Graduate College policy does not allow a faculty member with supervisory responsibility for an Employee to serve as mentor for the same individual as a student; therefore, any proposed employment of a trainee or student by a Company to work on Company Research that does not overlap with their training or academic program in which the mentor has Equity, serves on a Board, or serves as an Operating Officer or Scientific Officer of the Company must be approved in advance by the Dean of the Graduate College and the Senior Vice President and Provost.
