University buys online ethical watchdog service

Students and faculty who suspect ethical misconduct on campus can now act as private whistleblowers and instigate ethical investigations, all with the click of a mouse.

President Stephen Sundborg. S.J. announced Oct. 28 Seattle University will use the external and Web-based EthicsPoint as a tool to safeguard against unethical acts of faculty and staff. But students and professors were left scratching their heads as to the reasoning behind the new ethical policy.

The site allows the user to make claims based on a variety of ethics complaints ranging from conflict of interest to sexual harassment to recruiting misconduct.

Jerry Huffman, assistant vice president of Human Resources and a key proponent ofEthicsPoint, said faculty, staff and students on campus should be able to have a place where they can make a "good faith" ethics report "without fear of retaliation."

The definition of "good faith," however, is left up to interpretation. Even though the university does not require identification of ethics reporters, Seattle U's EthicsPoint site suggests that withholding one's identity may hinder an investigation.

"You may remain anonymous […] however, certain types of reports may be difficult for the university to pursue if you choose to remain anonymous," the university EthicsPoint Web site states.

The EthicsPoint site doesn't merely ask for written responses but asks specific questions about a report, such as the location and time. The site also offers a section to upload related documents or other media related to an ethics complaint.

The university's addition of EthicsPoints marks a shift in the institution's ethics policy. Previously, all students and staff were only required to sign the University Code of Conduct upon starting at the university.

Huffman said EthicsPoint augments the university's existing policy on ethical conduct.
Adminstrators decided to add EthicsPoint in order to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which was passed after widespread financial fraud committed by companies like Enron. The act establishes safeguards for "whistleblowers" within major institutions and was passed to prevent unethical corporate practices.

Though a university does not qualify as a corporation, the approach has been adopted by other Jesuit universities like Santa Clara to meet with Sarbanes Oxley expectations.

Executive Vice President Tim Leary said administrators wanted to adopt programs used by colleges they aspire to be like.

The Web-based program provides services to 304 educational institutions, including Texas A&M, Georgia Tech and Cornell University and boasts an endorsement by the Association of College and University Auditors. The company also represents retail giants like Netflix and Foot Locker.

The company operates on a separate server and says it processes ethics complaints that usually fall through the cracks.

Huffman and the university asserts that EthicsPoint serves as a practical application of Seattle University's whistleblower policy. The University's policy stipulates that no individual who makes a "good faith" ethics report will be subject to retaliation.

Huffman said having such an outsourced service provides a fair third party to which university members can report.

Seattle U has said that EthicsPoint is merely supplemental to the established policy. Huffman views the addition as beneficial to the efficiency of that current policy.