State and Local Government
Conflict of Interests Act
Mandatory Orientation Course
State law requires that designated officers and employees of the Commonwealth of Virginia, which includes the University of Virginia, attend and complete an orientation course on the State Conflict of Interests Act, in addition to filing annual disclosures of personal financial interests. The General Assembly has also mandated training on Ethics in Public Contracting, which is especially relevant for anyone with responsibility for authorizing or transacting University procurements of goods and services. Virginia law also requires retraining and public recertification semiannually (two year cycle).

The information resources on this page are designed to facilitate your orientation and completion of training. Upon completion, State law requires that you certify in writing that you have completed the orientation. A roster of certified employees is available for public inspection.

Purpose of the Training:

  • The purpose of the training module is to ensure that certain state officers and employees gain a greater understanding of the Conflict of Interests Act and Ethics in Public Contracting.

  • By having a working knowledge of these materials, state officers and employees will be able to recognize potential conflicts and learn how to seek advice on the appropriate measures to take in order to avoid potential conflicts.
  University Policies
  For all employees
  For Faculty
  For Researchers
  Statutes
  Conflict of Interests Act
  Virginia Public Procurement Act
  (see Sections 2.2-4367-4377)
  University of Virginia Board of
  Visitors' Code of Ethics and
  Statement of Values
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

To complete your orientation click the links below and read/review the following:

The Office of the Attorney General of Virginia has developed a new Conflict of Interests training program. The Attorney Generals’ website http://www.oag.state.va.us/LEGAL_LEGIS/COI/index.html provides the following information.

NOTICE: The 2004 DVD previously distributed for Conflict of Interest training is no longer supported by this Office or approved for training. For the training course and materials, please access the Knowledge Center link listed below.

Since 2004, the State and Local Government Conflict of Interest Act (“COI Act”) training has been presented by the office in live presenta-tions and via a video-taped presentation in DVD format downloadable from the Attorney General’s official website. Many of the state officers and employees who are required to take this training are scattered throughout the Commonwealth and did not have easy access to the live presentations, the DVDs, or have the capability to download the training.

In cooperation with Department of Human Resource Management (“DHRM”) and Department of Transportation personnel, who originally adapted the presentation as an interactive training course, Attorney General McDonnell is pleased to provide the training via Internet access.

In addition to the training on the COI Act, the interactive training also outlines the requirements of the Ethics in Public Contracting portion of the Virginia Public Procurement Act.

The training is suitable for the visually impaired as the audio portion of the training explains the COI Act in detail providing numerous examples to illustrate the Act’s provisions. The training is also geared towards the hearing impaired as the material is presented via slides and the audio script may be viewed. A course outline is also provided and may be printed for later reference.

If you have questions or comments regarding this course, please contact Lisa Seaborn at lseaborn@oag.state.va.us.

To access the course, please:
  1. Click here to enter the OAG Knowledge Center (https://covkc.virginia.gov/oag)
  2. Once you have entered the Knowledge Center, click the Registration link at the top and follow the instructions to register for the Knowledge Center. If this is your first time accessing the Knowledge Center, you are required to register. You should only have to register once.
  3. If you register as a non-state employee, you must be approved. After you complete registration, you will be notified that you must wait for approval from the Knowledge Center Administrator via email.
  4. After you have received an approval email from the Knowledge Center Administrator, login to the Knowledge Center using the logon id and password you created during registration.
  5. After you have logged in, select the Learning Center.
  6. Choose Course Information & Enrollment option.
  7. Type COI in the Keywords field.
  8. Click the Search button.
  9. Click the Virginia State and Local Conflict of Interests (COI) Act Training course link.
  10. Click the Take Course button.
NOTE: If you have used the Commonwealth of Virginia Knowledge Center previously you may need to change your password using the Forgot or Change password link.

For assistance accessing the Knowledge Center, please contact the Administrator at oagkcadmin@oag.state.va.us.

NOTE:
This new process will eliminate the completion and submission of the “COI Certificate of Completion” http://www.hrs.virginia.edu/career/dot/conflictofinterest/certificateofcompletion.pdf .
 
 
Legal Assistance:
Paul Forch
UVA General Counsel
434-924-3586, or pjf8t@virginia.edu
 Personal legal advice can not be offered, nor comfort opinions provided assuring you that personal conduct or transactional activity is or will be in compliance with state law. Such opinions or assurances may only be provided by Virginia’s Attorney General. The University's Office of General Counsel may however be able to clarify legislative principles and questions of a general nature. You can also write directly to the Attorney General and request an opinion, upon which you can rely, that will be responsive to your personal circumstances. Of course, you can also always consult your personal attorney for personal legal advice. However, the best interests of the University are furthered by avoiding any personal or business activity that may be perceived or misunderstood as a conflict of interest, whether or not the activity may be permitted under state law.

Technical Assistance:
Dave Ripley
COI Coordinator
434-924-4373
dwr@virginia.edu

 

Please refer general questions regarding the COI process or problems you may encounter downloading any of the training materials to the COI Coordinator.

 
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