FAQs: OPA Disclosures

Institutional Time is the total time required for individuals, such as faculty and researchers, to fulfill their Institutional Responsibilities. Institutional Time includes Permitted Time for faculty and certain ranks.  Permitted Time is a specific portion of Institutional Time allocated for Outside Professional Activities (OPAs), allowing faculty to engage in activities beyond their core MIT responsibilities.

MIT does not require reporting of specific hours or days spent on OPAs, relying on faculty to manage their time effectively to ensure that these activities do not compete with their institutional obligations. For faculty, Permitted Time is up to 20% of Institutional Time; for other defined ranks, it is up to 10%. All others do not have Permitted Time to engage in OPAs.

Either your DAF or department head in your unit will approve your OPA.

Refer to MyCOI-OPA+ Resources for detailed guidance.

Graduate students considering outside professional activities should continue to follow the policies outlined in Graduate Policies and Procedures on COI and OPA. They will not use MyCOI-OPA+ unless specifically instructed to do so as part of a research proposal or award process.

No. Administrative, support, and service staff now report Outside Professional Activities directly to supervisors only as required by the Conflict of Commitment policy. They do not use MyCOI-OPA+.

Yes, the new system is available to faculty and academic and research staff to disclose both financial conflicts of interest and outside professional activities.

If you have Significant Financial Interests (SFIs) from the legacy My COI system, see MyCOI-OPA+ Resources for migration information.

Contact ra-help@mit.edu.

During the initial deployment of MyCOI-OPA+, departments will send information regarding the submission of OPA disclosures. 

After the initial deployment, submit your OPA disclosure:

• Within 30 days of starting a new engagement or renewing an existing one
• If 12 months have passed since your last OPA disclosure

Yes. If you are faculty, a researcher, research staff, academic instructional staff, a postdoc, or otherwise directed, you should complete your OPA disclosure, even if you do not have any Reasonably Related engagements. Refer to MyCOI-OPA+ Resources for additional guidance.

MyCOI-OPA+ is a new system; historical data was not migrated.

You may access your last submitted OPA disclosure by going to the legacy OPA system. In the lefthand navigation menu, select “View My Current Submitted OPA Report.” This refers to your OPA report submitted in spring 2024.