The mission of the Office of Audit, Compliance & Privacy is to assist Auburn University, Auburn University at Montgomery, the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, and the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station (the "University") in fulfilling its vision of being a preeminent comprehensive land-grant university. Our office provides services in three distinct yet related disciplines - audit, compliance, and privacy - in support of Auburn University's three-pronged mission of teaching, research, and service.
The Office of Audit, Compliance & Privacy functions in partnership with University leadership to:
Our monthly newsletter compiles relevant higher education risk-related stories from around the nation.
November 2019It is hard to believe that we are fast approaching the end of 2019. In the USA, we end the month of November with my favorite holiday of the year – Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving may be my favorite holiday because the primary requirements are to eat great food and watch football. It is also good to think about the things we are thankful for during this season, one of which is you, our readers.
We never imagined when we began publishing Case in Point over ten years ago, that this publication would eventually have subscribers coast to coast (in the USA), and now internationally in multiple counties. We appreciate your interest, and our goal is to help you be successful in carrying out the mission of higher education.
Our mission in this industry is noble when you think about it. We have the opportunity to change lives for the better through education, research, and outreach to our communities. It is very important that we use our resources for this noble mission. Unfortunately, the headlines you see here each month usually mean that institutional resources are being directed away from our mission and into things like investigations, attorney's fees, fines, and the like. Our underlying philosophy in Case in Point is that proactive prevention of problems is less expensive than becoming the headline. The secondary philosophy is that whatever is happening at other institutions may also be happening at your institution.
That is why we suggest you do three things each month with this publication. First, scan the articles and read in depth those that apply to your area of leadership. Second, honestly consider whether you may have a similar issue that could become a headline. Lastly, do something to proactively reduce risk and keep funds on the mission.
It is really a very simple philosophy but one that often gets lost in the busyness of our daily activities. We again invite you to review the issues across our industry with a view toward preventing problems and staying on mission at your institution.
Read this month's issue of Case In Point
The University uses the EthicsPoint anonymous Reporting System to enhance communication and empower individuals to promote safety, security, and ethical behavior. Use this anonymous, confidential system to report situations, events or actions by individuals or groups that you believe unethical or otherwise inappropriate. Frivolous or unfounded reports do not help foster a positive workplace. This hotline service does not replace our existing reporting methods for reporting fraud, waste, abuse or other potentially illegal activities. The University continues to encourage stakeholders to report concerns or suspected violations to their supervisor or other campus entities as appropriate.
If you are uncertain if a situation violates University policy, is illegal or constitutes harassment or discrimination, you may use EthicsPoint to obtain clarification. We would much rather have you ask questions than let potential problems go unchecked. However, EthicsPoint should not be used for immediate threats to life or property. If the situation presents an immediate threat to life or property call emergency -- 911
Last Updated: October 03, 2019
