Skip to main content

2023 Annual Report

PDF version of this report

Mission

To promote a culture of transparency and accountability at Carolina.

Accomplishments

In 2023-2024, the Office of Ethics and Policy advanced transparency, responsibility, and ethical behavior in alignment with the University’s strategic plan.
Transparency: Enhanced visibility through a competitive internship program and educational social media campaigns.
Responsibility: Developed and updated policies in collaboration with stakeholders, ensuring continuous open communication.
Ethical Behavior: Hosted Global Ethics Month and other events, fostering a sense of belonging and visibly integrating ethical considerations into campus life.

Design, implement, execute, assess and continuously improve the administrative operations that support the University’s mission of teaching, research and public service.

Fiscal Year Achievements

Improve Administrative Operations
  • Recruited, trained, and supervised undergraduate interns.
  • Hired and onboarded an administrative assistant.
  • Created and updated online and on-demand ethics and policy trainings.
  • Created a program in Python to more accurately and efficiently analyze monthly policy data.
Nimble Approach and Adaptability
  • Reviewed and published policy updates in a timely manner.
  • Strengthened relationships with new and existing University Units through collaboration and ready availability.
  • Expedited policy review and publication to meet regulatory and other deadlines.
Enhance “Compliance Readiness”
  • Collaborated with University Units to ensure that their policy practices align with daily practice.
  • Proactively edited out-of-date and/or risky policies with accessibility and readability in mind.
  • Advised leadership on the creation of a University-wide values statement.
Invest in policies, systems, and infrastructure that promote belonging, community and transparency throughout the University community.

Fiscal Year Achievements

Maintain Centralized University Policies
  • Managed, organized and improved policy repository.
  • Coordinated new and updated policies with University stakeholders.
  • Facilitated monthly policy review processes.
Systematically Review and Examine Policies
  • Applied accessibility and readability principles in all policy reviews.
  • Updated materials in response to commonly asked questions.
  • Benchmarked with peer institutions.
  • Alerted University units of out-of-date policies.
Advance Belonging, Transparency, and Community
  • Communicated with the University community about policy changes.
  • Responded to policy research inquiries from University Units.
  • Developed training materials to help University Units review their policies for accessibility and readability.
  • Created a consistent social media presence.
Address Institutional and Individual Threats to Integrity
  • Opened 102 Carolina Ethics Line reports.
  • Closed 67 Carolina Ethics Line reports.
  • Sponsored Global Ethics Month including speakers, panels and awareness events.
  • Published ethics and policy blogs in the Offi ce of Ethics and Policy monthly newsletter.

The Office of Ethics and Policy has set the following goals for the 2025 fiscal year:

Transparency

  • Maintain and update high-quality trainings and materials to answer frequently asked questions..
  • Communicate University policies, values, and events through established social media channels, monthly newsletter and website.

Responsibility

  • Help University Units with policy development and maintenance.
  • Reduce the backlog of out-of-date policies.
  • Incorporate Unit level policies in University Policy Repository.
  • Refine metrics to track progress of University policy document reviews, revisions, and compliance.

Ethical Behavior

  • Maintain and grow Global Ethics Month
  • Establish and advance a University Hotline Policy.
  • Reduce the backlog of out-of-date policies.
  • Maximize policy repository potential and privacy.
  • Inform Carolina Ethics Line improvements.