OPACS
Welcome to the online home of the annual process for faculty to report on and certify their compliance with the Faculty Policy on Conflict of Commitment and Interest. The OPACS application is currently available for certification of faculty’s outside professional activity in 2011. The period for which activities are to be entered is January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011.
The OPACS format has been revised to clarify what possible conflicts of commitment and conflicts of interest related to Stanford institutional responsibilities need to be disclosed and to reduce the overlap between the two sections of the form. The system has been redesigned so that as of next year, information reported during previous years will not need to be re-entered. Upon completion of the annual form for 2011, the data will remain in OPACS for future disclosures. However, all relevant information for 2011 activities will need to be entered. To help with this process, a PDF of 2010 disclosure can be downloaded from the OPACS dashboard.
The deadline for filing the completed report is May 18, 2012.
This secure site allows members of the Academic Council and Medical Center Line (MCL) Faculty to certify and submit electronically their annual report on outside professional interests as required by University policy. Access to this site is controlled by SUNet IDs. Only the cognizant school dean and a designated senior school administrator (Department Chairs in the Schools of Engineering and Medicine), the Dean of Research and a designated senior administrator, and staff of certain other offices with a need, such as the General Counsel's Office or Internal Audit, have access to reported data.
Annual reporting on outside professional activities serves two major purposes. First, it provides each faculty member with a reminder about the University's policies in this important area. Second, it provides Stanford with an opportunity to review and document each faculty member's compliance with those policies.
Faculty may use the "OPACS Dashboard" button to enter or update their OPACS reports. In addition, they may also view OPACS reports prior to 2011. Other information linked here includes:
- Background
Information about faculty conflict of commitment and interest reporting and certification at Stanford, including links to University policies and external regulations
- FAQs
about the reporting and certification process
Questions and answers that have been asked by Stanford faculty in the past about conflict of commitment and interest reporting issues
- FAQs
about this tool
Questions and answers about how to use the on-line reporting tool including information about navigation through this site, saving, printing and submitting forms, and other technical issues - Tips for managing outside financial interests
Guidance related to different situations in which a conflict of commitment or interest might be perceived
- Contacts
How and where to go for assistance if you need it, including names and contact information for individuals who administer this process for the University and for individual schools
Only members of the Academic Council and Medical Center Line faculty have access to this tool for submitting a report and certification.
If you have specific questions regarding the meaning of particular questions, or their applicability to you, please look at the FAQs about the reporting and certification process. If your question is not answered there, please contact the designated office in your school (see the Contacts page for the names of the cognizant individuals in these offices and their contact information). If you have specific questions about the use of this reporting and certification system, please review the FAQs about this tool page.
Additional general information about conflicts of interest can be found on the Conflict of Interest Resource Page. If you have questions regarding this site, please contact Denise Hofer, Faculty Affairs, Office of the Vice Provost and Dean of Research.
