The Board of Regents approved a revision Nov. 10 to its policy manual that establishes a unified ethics policy for the University System of Georgia, which includes UGA.
“There are a multitude of documents in existence throughout the University System that govern personal conduct in various ways, but the new ethics policy provides a comprehensive, overarching framework for improving our overall risk management of all the varied resources entrusted to our care,” said Ron Stark, USG’s chief audit officer and associate vice chancellor for internal audit. “The University System of Georgia is committed to the highest ethical and professional standards of conduct in pursuit of its mission to create a more educated Georgia. This universal policy will help bring all 35 USG campuses into compliance with federal and state regulations and the system’s code of conduct.”
The new ethics policy, available online at www.usg.edu/compliance/ethics, is part of the University System’s three-pronged approach to enhance compliance with state and federal regulations and to minimize misconduct by USG faculty, staff, administrators, vendors, contractors and members of the board of regents. The effort also involves the development of enterprise risk-management and compliance programs.
In one location, the new policy summarizes various rules, policies and procedures governing the board of regents and its employees, who will receive training as part of the implementation plan.