COINS Quick Start Guide for Department Heads

Use this Quick Start Guide to review and approve Pre-Approval Requests, access department disclosures, and run reports. For more detailed guidance and step-by-step instructions, please visit the Department Head Learning Path webpage.

Log in to COINS 

  1. Navigate to coins.psu.edu.
  2. Log in using your Penn State Account email address (e.g., abc123@psu.edu) and password. NOTE: College of Medicine and Penn State Health users should review the following webpage to locate and use their Penn State Account credentials to log in to COINS: Log In to Penn State Systems.

Review Prior Approval Requests 

  1. After logging in to COINS, click the My Reviews tab (to the right of the My Inbox tab).  
  2. In the Name column, click the name of the Pre-approval Request. 
  3. On the left, click the View Pre-Approval Request button.  
  4. Scroll through the Pre-Approval Request and review the information. 
  5. When finished, click Exit in the lower right to return to the Pre-Approval Request workspace.  
  6. On the left, click Submit Review. 
  7. Select a determination and add comments, if desired. 
  8. Click OK.  
  9. If you have more requests to review, return to the My Reviews tab by clicking Dashboard tab -> My Reviews tab.  

Locate Departmental Disclosures 

IMPORTANT: Please request access to view disclosures by emailing coinsadmin@psu.edu. Even with the appropriate access, you will not see disclosure information for everyone in your department until disclosure season 2025.

  1. After logging in to COINS, click the COI tab. 
  2. All Disclosure Profiles (including your own) are displayed for the disclosers in your department.  
  3. Use the Filter by options at the top of the Disclosure Profiles list to search for an individual’s Disclosure Profile. For help with searching and filtering, please see these instructions.  
  4. In the Name column, click the name of a Disclosure Profile.  
  5. Click the View Disclosure Profile button (below the Instruction Center). 

Access Management Plans 

  1. After logging in to COINS, click the COI tab. 
  2. All Disclosure Profiles (including your own) are displayed for the disclosers in your department.  
  3. Use the Filter by options at the top of the Disclosure Profiles list to search for an individual’s Disclosure Profile. For help with searching and filtering, please see these instructions.  
  4. In the Name column, click the name of a Disclosure Profile.  
  5. Click the View Disclosure Profile button on the left. 
  6. In the Management Plan section of the page (below the View Disclosure Profile button), click the link to the Management plan.  

 Access Reports 

  1. After logging in to COINS, click the COI tab -> Reports tab. 
  2. A variety of reports are displayed with a name and description. Click the name of a report to run it.  

NOTE: Department/Unit Heads only see data populated in reports in the Disclosure Reports section and the Admin Reports section. If you need additional information or reports for your department, contact the COI program at coinsadmin@psu.edu.