Universities now paying for ethics training program
A new ethics training program will be developed for University of Illinois employees, but at a cost to the university.
The Office of the Executive Inspector General, the state agency that oversees ethics training for tens of thousands of state employees, has asked the state’s public universities to handle ethics training for the universities beginning in 2009.
“We believe, and always have believed, the university possesses the resources to develop a training program that is best suited to situations that arise in the educational environment,” said Gilbert Jimenez, deputy inspector general in the Office of the Executive Inspector General for the agencies of the governor.
The UI, the largest public university in the state, is coordinating the effort by contracting with a company to handle the Internet-based training, according to UI spokesman Tom Hardy. It’s expected to cost the nine universities about $327,000 for three years. The universities will share the cost based on how many of their employees participate in the training. The UI represents about half of the university employees who will complete the ethics training, Hardy said.
Ethics training typically takes place in the fall for university employees. The vast majority take the training online, and it typically takes about 30 minutes or so to complete, Hardy said.
“The basic rule doesn’t change. All state employees must undergo ethics training,” Jimenez said.
Jimenez’s office, along with the state Executive Ethics Commission, and Illinois attorney general, will still have oversight under the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act of 2003. That act outlines the requirement that each state officer, member and employee must annually complete an ethics training program.
The executive inspector general’s office made the request earlier this year, Jimenez said.
No money will be transferred to the universities to cover the cost.
On Thursday the UI Board of Trustees approved the $327,600 contract with Workplace Answers of San Francisco.