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Compliance FAQ
What is compliance?
Who is responsible for compliance?
What is the role of the Compliance Office?
- Serving as a resource to the university community. Questions about who to call about an issue or whether something is permitted by policy? We can help.
- Building awareness of compliance issues by disseminating information.
- Educating managers about policies and procedures regarding compliance.
- Providing academic chairs or directors and their managers with “best practices” in terms of defining appropriate internal controls, developing customized reports for financial planning and reviewing the administrative organizational structure to assure departmental programs and research initiatives are well supported.
- Monitoring compliance issues campus-wide, identifying risk areas, and assigning priorities.
- Identifying and removing institutional barriers to compliance, such as policy gaps, lack of data or inadequate systems, lack of resources, organizational problems, or skewed incentives.
- Providing institutional oversight and support to administrative operations in academic departments.
What are compliance issues?
How do I know if there is a compliance or integrity issue?
- Are these actions legal?
- Do these actions comply with university policy?
- Do these actions seem fair and honest?
If I think there is a compliance or integrity issue, what should I do first?
- Identify Concern. If you have observed potentially illegal or unethical behavior, you may first wish to review related policies for guidance.
- Discuss Concern with Supervisor. Contact your supervisor for guidance about your concern. If you are uncomfortable with this approach, see Step 3.
- Discuss Concern with HR or Compliance. Report your concern directly to the Office of Human Resources or the University Compliance Office. If you are still uncomfortable, wish to remain anonymous, or have not received an adequate response, see Step 4.
- Submit a Report to the University's Hotline, EthicsPoint, either online or via phone (866-294-3545). EthicsPoint is managed by a third-party, does not require a log-in, and allows people the option of identifying themselves or remaining anonymous.
What happens if I report a concern through EthicsPoint?
When a report is made through EthicsPoint, it is received by the University Compliance Office who review the report and determine whether the report falls under the purview / expertise of another office on campus - usually one of our key compliance partners. If so, we will refer the report to that office who will follow their own policies and processes to determine what any required next steps are. If the report is complex, we may involve multiple units to review and assess the report. When the report is referred elsewhere, the individual(s) who made the report will be notified of that action in the EthicsPoint portal.
If there is no dedicated office, the report will stay with University Compliance, and we will conduct any investigation as needed, and let the individual(s) who made the report know when review of the matter has concluded.
In very rare cases, the issue may be escalated to university leadership and/or the Board of Trustees.
Note: If you need to make a report about someone within the University Compliance Office, the EthicsPoint system will not permit that member of the Office to view, or have knowledge of, the report.
Do I need to have evidence of misconduct to make a report in EthicsPoint?
No. Members of the community are encouraged to speak up and bring forward issues or concerns that they may have, regardless of whether they have specific evidence that there was misconduct. The ability to perform an investigation may depend on the availability of evidence and/or the willingness of an individual(s) making the report to identify themselves, but all concerns are reviewed.
In some instances, the outcome of such a report may be education, reminders of policy, or development of training on a specific topic.
If / when a member of the community has evidence of policy violations or misconduct, we ask that they provide it so that the matter can be appropriately addressed in accordance with university policies and procedures.