Employment and Human Resources
Compliance and Ethics
Page Content
The Code of Ethical Conduct is intended to document expectations of responsibility and integrity. Exemplary ethical conduct is critically important in our relationships with colleagues, trustees, students, volunteers, contractors, and the public.
Go to usm.policystat.com. Type “ethical” in the search and click the search policies button. It will be the first policy listed in the results.
- You can speak to your manager or supervisor if you are comfortable doing so.
- You can contact the University Compliance Officer – Paul Walters. You can reach Paul
by phone at 601.266-4466; via email at complianceFREEMississippi or you can visit the Compliance and Ethics office which is located on the 5th floor
of the International Center (IC) in 501.
COMPLIANCE AND ETHICS Website - If you prefer to make a report anonymously, you can use our third-party reporting
hotline provider EthicsPoint. This hotline is available for use 24/7. You can make
a report via telephone toll-free at 877.310.0425 or report online via the link below.
Please note that this is NOT a 911 or emergency service. If you need to report an
emergency, please call 911 or contact University Police at 601.266.4986.
Submit an anonymous report
Any behavior that is in violation of our Code of Ethical Conduct should be reported. Also, behavior that violates federal or state law, University policies or procedures or any waste, fraud, abuse or misuse of university resources should be reported. Any compliance or ethical concern you have may be reported through the helpline.
Our Code of Ethical Conduct states – "The University of Southern Mississippi expects all employees, students, contractors, vendors and volunteers to maintain the highest standards of ethical conduct."
We are relying on all University members to ask questions and notify the Compliance Officer and/or report via the Compliance and Ethics Helpline if you have any concerns. If you are in doubt about making a report, please go ahead and report the issue. We would rather you report the information than keep it to yourself.
You can view the list of categories and issues related to reportable conduct on the Compliance and Ethics Hotline site.
No. The University will not tolerate any retaliation against a University member who makes a good-faith report of a violation. If you feel you are experiencing retaliation due to a report you have made, please contact the Compliance Officer or make a report to the helpline.
No, the hotline is through a third-party vendor – EthicsPoint. Reports made to EthicsPoint are entered into their secure server and the information transmitted is not retained in USM's files. EthicsPoint does not generate or maintain any internal connection logs with IP addresses so there is NO information linking your computer to EthicsPoint. The telephone reporting is handled directly by EthicsPoint via trained employees and USM does not have access to caller id or any identifiable information. You do not have to make a report from your University computer or telephone. You may make the report from any computer or telephone where you feel comfortable.
Yes! We need you to report. Your report can minimize the potential negative impact on the University and its members. We have carefully chosen the best reporting tool to meet our ethical and compliance goals while maintaining a positive reporting environment.
The reports are entered directly onto the EthicsPoint secure server to prevent a security breach. The Internal Auditor is the administrator of the Compliance Hotline and is the individual who receives the report. Report information is made available only to specific individuals within the University who have the responsibility of investigating the reports.
The report will be investigated promptly and thoroughly and the disposition of the report will be recorded in the system.
The EthicsPoint system and report distribution are designed in such a way that implicated parties are not notified or granted access to reports in which they have been named.
Yes. EthicsPoint does provide a way to follow up on the status of your report. When you file your report either online or over the phone, you receive a unique username and you choose a password. You can return to the EthicsPoint system at any time either online or by phone and access the original report to:
- Check on the status of your report.
- Add more detail to your report.
- Answer questions posed by the university.
If you add more detail to your report or answer questions regarding the incident from the University, your anonymity will be still be maintained, even if there is a dialogue between you and the University personnel.
If needed, the Ethics and Compliance Hotline also allows the reporting party to participate in an anonymous chat with the Internal Auditor (who administers the hotline).
**Please take care to retain your unique user name and password created at the time of your report. EthicsPoint does not retain your password and will be unable to provide it to you if lost.
The hotline is also available at 877.310.0425. *Please note this hotline is NOT a 911 or emergency service.
A public records request is a written request by an individual requesting copies of a public entities records or requesting that they be allowed to inspect public records.
Public records include books, records, papers, accounts, letters, maps, photographs, films, card, tapes, recordings or reproductions of recordings possessed by the public entity and used in conducting public business.
The Mississippi Public Records Act (Miss. Code Ann. § 25-61-1) provides that all public records are public property, subject to certain exceptions and any individual has the right to inspect or obtain a copy of the record subject to certain procedures concerning costs, time, place and method of access.
To make a public records request, submit your request via email to publicrecordsFREEMississippi.
Costs for satisfying public records request are the actual costs determined on a case-by-case basis for searching, reviewing, and redaction of records by an actual staff member in addition to the costs for photocopies as set forth in IHL Policy 301.0804.
Yes, there are several courses that an individual needs to complete. The course list is available on the following webpage- usm.edu/compliance-ethics/training.php.
Among the courses are the Title IX course, Preventing Harassment and Discrimination and the Alcohol and Drugs course.
The University may add additional courses as needed.
USM is a member institution of The National Council of State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA) which allows us to offer distance learning in 49 states and in Guam and Puerto Rico.
34 CFR 668.43 requires that institutions advise students if professional programs that typically lead to licensure do not lead to licensure or if a determination has not been made. This information can be found by clicking on Professional Licensure Disclosures on the bottom of any usm.edu webpage or use the link below.
GDPR is a law that provides to those in the European Economic Area (EEA) certain
Any individual who was in the EEA at the time that their data was collected or stored.
Click on Privacy & Legal link at the very bottom of every usm.edu webpage or use the link below.
The GDPR Privacy Notice explains how USM processes personal data and how we apply data protection principles.