The university's Conflicts of Interest and Commitment (COIC) disclosure form is moving Jan. 1 from AccessPlus to IRBManager. All faculty, professional and scientific staff, postdoctoral associates, graduate assistants and contract employees complete this form annually to report any external activities or financial interests with the potential to interfere with their university duties.
IRBManager is the electronic system ISU scientists have used for about three years to manage research projects involving human subjects. Despite the research-sounding name, it can accommodate many kinds of compliance processes. With the change, direct supervisors will approve their employees' COIC forms, and any subsequent management plans are stored -- and easily accessed -- in IRBManager.
Around Jan. 20, 2021, supervisors will receive an email inviting them to complete the COIC form and share the request with their direct-report employees. The email will include a link to the COIC form; the Okta dashboard also will contain a new button, "COIC."
Brooke Langlitz, associate director of the office of research ethics, said the new COIC disclosure form is user friendly and offers features not available in the legacy system. Routing of the completed forms will follow Workday's supervisory organizations. Langlitz said the long-term goal remains to move the COIC function to Workday once a robust management module has been developed. IRBManager provides the option now to retire the COIC disclosure function in AccessPlus.
Questions about the new COIC process may be directed to Lynn Comito, office of research ethics, coi@iastate.edu, 294-3324.
