If you walked into work tomorrow and were confronted with one of the following scenarios, would you know what to do?
- You have been charged with making sure that federal grant monies are spent for activities that are in the budget – How do you do this?
- A business transaction appears to be a conflict of interest for your department – What is your next step?
- When a patient visited your clinic, you were asked to use a billing code that does not appear to fit the service provided – What happens if you choose the wrong one?
- You and your family are at a restaurant after hours and you notice several athletes dining with a donor – Is this okay?
- During a conference trip, you notice your supervisor is using the ProCard for personal expenses – What is the protocol?
- A coworker reports to you that he has been discriminated against – Who do you tell?
- Someone has asked you to share your login and password to access a university computer system – Is this acceptable?
If these scenarios pertain to your area of work, you should already be able to answer them adeptly and serve the university community. But what if you don’t know and make a wrong guess? The university then finds itself out of compliance with applicable rules, regulations and policies, and that can mean serious problems for all of us – including legal action against us personally and/or the university.
To reduce the likelihood that you’ll be caught unprepared and be adversely affected by such scenarios, the University of Louisville and its administration are implementing proactive measures through an institutional compliance program to ensure that compliance remains a top-of-mind issue for us all. The program has an institutional structure that ties the Board of Trustees, the president, the Compliance Oversight Council and the Institutional Compliance Committee together for purposes of oversight, decision making and communication.
UofL has identified more than 350 federal, state and local compliance-related requirements that it must monitor. To streamline the communication shared among the university community and reduce the risk of non-compliance with these requirements, the Institutional Compliance Office maintains a website for use and information. This website is your one-stop portal for all things related to compliance, including these tools and items:
- Compliance helpline (1-877-852-1167), because if you see something, SAY SOMETHING!
- Directory of programs and professionals that are waiting to serve you.
- Policies and procedures, including the Code of Conduct, which govern all aspects of the university’s approach to compliance.
- Training module available to help you better understand the Institutional Compliance program
Ethical, honest and compliant behavior at UofL is an institutional code and an individual responsibility. The university stands ready to partner with each of you to ensure that this campus offers an environment in which compliance is everyone’s business – together we can make it happen!
To meet your compliance team, stop for free pizza, free dessert and a visit during Compliance Awareness Week, Sept. 27 and Sept. 28. Go to the compliance website and check the blinking eyes for more details!
