LINKS
PETITIONPlease sign our petition to save dropped OU sports. Click here. If your current circumstances or position with Ohio University do not require anonymity, we request that you sign with your name rather than as "Anonymous" as some have. Thank you and thanks to the Women's Lacrosse blog for setting up this petition.MORE LINKSBobcat Attack Message BoardOhio University Alumni AssociationOU Students have an active discussion going on in FaceBook.Com. Click here to go to FaceBook.Com and join in.OU Student Newspaper "The Post Online"www.EquityinAthletics.orgSave James Madison University Sports.orgTaking Inside Higher Ed to the MatEMAIL CONTACT FOR THIS SITE: SaveOUSports ATgmailDOTcom |
OU's Internal Audit Department
Information on how to submit a report
Recent history of anonymous reporting procedures
EthicsPoint was the service OU used until recently. Until its use was suspended by President McDavis, anyone suspecting fraud, waste, or abuse in OU's management could report anonymously using this service.Now, according to news reports, OU's Internal Audit Department will handle such requests which the Department states can be made anonymously.A report to EthicsPoint was apparently what uncovered embezzlement in OU's Department of Intercollegiate Athletics.Right now, September 4, 2007, OU's Internal Audit website still shows EthicsPoint as the location where anonymous reports can be made. Here is the EthicsPoint webpage for OU. Click on any of the links to see that EthicsPoint no longer provides this service to OU.For anyone considering making a report, here is a link to OU's Policies and Procedures webpage with downloadable information.Read below for more information.From "The Post Online," Tuesday, September 4, 2007Editor's NotePublished Tuesday, September 4, 2007.Dear Readers,I could not have asked for a better way to ring in the new school year than today’s page one story about EthicsPoint.In case you missed it, the university has stopped using a Web site and telephone service, both run by the company EthicsPoint, to field complaints of alleged wrongdoing – all because of a Post records request. The Post had requested records about EthicsPoint during the summer under the Ohio Open Records Law.University officials would have you believe that the Ohio Open Records Law should include an exemption to keep these files under wraps. If the files are public records, university officials argue, anonymous whistleblowers who report legitimate wrongdoing might be identified and face retaliation, and innocent people might have unfounded accusations against them made public.Those concerns don’t quite fit with reality.As a lawyer for EthicsPoint said in today’s Post story, anyone making an anonymous complaint on the system will remain anonymous. No one, not even newspapers requesting public records related to EthicsPoint, can know the identifies of anonymous whistleblowers.It is true that unfounded accusations made on EthicsPoint are public. The Post’s records request turned up 13 unsubstantiated complaints in the 31 total EthicsPoint reports. The records contained 25 names.But university officials are kidding themselves if they think people’s reputations will be tarnished by the unfounded accusations made against them on EthicsPoint. No self-respecting newspaper would publish a laundry list of unfounded accusations, and if members of the general public were to request the public records – which are available to anyone – they would know that the accusations did not necessarily have basis in fact.By asking that these files be exempted from the Ohio Open Records Law, the university essentially wants to avoid public scrutiny.The Post requested all the records related to EthicsPoint for two reasons. First, we wanted to hold the university accountable for spending $8,100 a year on this system. That amount of money would almost pay one student’s tuition for a year, so it was important for us to assess whether EthicsPoint was effective in weeding out waste, corruption and fraud, as it is supposed to do.Second, we wanted to see if any complaints made on the system were being swept under the rug. It is certainly not unheard of for this university to ignore legitimate concerns (read: plagiarism scandal), and it is the role of newspapers to shed light on those dark areas.In short, this public records request epitomized what The Post is all about: holding university officials accountable.In the coming weeks, you’ll probably see more stories about EthicsPoint that answer our original questions about the system. And all throughout the year, you’ll see stories with the same theme of holding the university accountable.That’s what we at The Post are all about. And we hope that’s what will keep you reading our newspaper every day.—Matt ZapotoskyFrom "The Post Online," August 23, 2007 University suspends use of whistleblower systemPublished Thursday, August 23, 2007.Ohio University stopped using a Web site and telephone service to accept reports of alleged wrongdoing last week, just one day after school officials were forced to turn over all records from the system to The Post in response to an Ohio Open Records Act request.The system, called EthicsPoint, cost the university $8,100 a year and allowed any users to go online or call a telephone service to submit claims of suspected fraud, waste or abuse. Users could submit reports anonymously, and their claims were investigated by the appropriate university department. The system was launched in February 2006.University officials expressed concern that people falsely accused on the system might have their names made public, and those filing reports might face retaliation. The Post requested the records to look for complaints that might have gone unaddressed by the university and to present readers with information about the cost and success of the EthicsPoint system.“It concerns me that the identities of whistleblowers could become known,” said Kathryn Chambers Gilmore, director of OU’s Office of Internal Audit, adding that she hoped the open records law would change to exempt these types of reports. “These people have done the right thing by reporting wrongdoing, and they should not have to worry about potential retribution.”EthicsPoint, which has about 1,500 clients globally, does not require any specific identifying information from the reporter, nor does it record digital information that could link a reporter to a complaint, said Amanda Mayhew, the company’s general counsel.“I guarantee anonymity if you choose anonymity,” she said, adding that she does not think OU’s suspension of the system puts a black mark on it.All but three of the 31 total EthicsPoint reports were made anonymously, and 13 were classified as unsubstantiated. The records contain names of 25 people accused of misconduct, though many were found not to have violated laws or policies.Only two of the reports were classified as substantiated, including the report that tipped university officials to former Athletics Department employee Robert Andrey’s misuse of his university purchasing card and other funds. Andrey resigned and pleaded guilty to one count of theft in office, a fourth-degree felony. He was ordered to pay back more than $31,000 to the university.The other 16 reports found some problems, but none was classified as substantiated. Those reports ranged from top level employees wearing inappropriate T-shirts to student workers giving out free food to a homeless man.Marion Little, a lawyer at the Columbus-based law firm Zeiger, Tigges and Little, said an instance such as the one at OU could contribute to the laws changing, but open records laws that guarantee public access to records are paramount to the role of the news industry. Little’s firm represents The Columbus Dispatch.“I think it’s fair that we need to have the ability to challenge what public officials are doing,” he said. “Maybe I’m more skeptical just because of my age or the nature of my practice, but I often lack a lot of confidence in what our public officials are doing. You see too many stories every day of public corruption.”OU’s contract with EthicsPoint, which renews annually, finishes Dec. 5. The university will have to contact EthicsPoint 60 days prior with a decision to continue or dismiss the service.The Office of Internal Audit will continue to accept reports while EthicsPoint is suspended, including anonymous telephone calls. Gilmore advised calling her direct number, 740-593-1865, and using a calling card, pay phone or dialing *67 to remain anonymous. |
DROPPED TEAMS
2006 Women's Lacrosse Team
Women's Save Ohio Lacrosse Blog
LaxPower.com message board discussion on OU LAX
Women's Lacrosse web page at OU website
Swimming and Diving
Save Ohio Swimming and DivingandSave Ohio Swimming
Swimming and Diving web page at OU website
Save Ohio University Swimming Discussion Forum
Track and Field
Bringing Back Ohio Track Blog
Track and Field web page at OU website
YouTube video put together for the Track and Field Team
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Copyright 2007 - 2008 by SaveOUSports.org - Email: SaveOUSports AT gmail DOT comSaveOUsports.org is a non-profit group devoted to action that will reinstate discontinued varsity sports at Ohio University.
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