This year’s Compliance & Ethics Week will take place from January 22-26, 2024. The purpose of this event is to raise awareness about compliance-related topics and reinforce ethical values for building a stronger UW. It’s your chance as an office to make sure your day-to-day workflows follow established best practices and follow state, federal, and University legal requirements. And, it’s your chance as an individual to start the year off right!
We’ve teamed up with partner offices across the UW for this event. Together with our partner offices, we’ll provide trainings and resources for you to review and a list of actionable tasks for you to complete. We’ll also be hosting a live Zoom series called “Coffee & Compliance” at 10am each morning of that week covering a range of engaging topics.
Go ahead and block off some time. You can build your knowledge, refresh your understanding, increase awareness of ethical issues, and help reinforce a culture of compliance across the university. Bookmark this page so that you can easily return and watch for new material to be added.
This page is organized into 4 sections:
- Coffee & Compliance Live Events Conversations at 10am each morning during C&E week, covering a range of topics with our partner offices
- Compliance & Ethics Week Tasks Tangible steps you can take to up your compliance game in 2024
- Partner Offices Links Review this wealth of information on important topics from across the UW
- Records Management Self-Assessment
Coffee & Compliance Events
We are hosting a live Zoom series, Coffee & Compliance at 10am each morning of the event week covering a range of interesting topics with our engaging partner offices. Pour yourself a cup of java and listen in as University leaders discuss crucial compliance topics including public disclosure, FERPA, data privacy, security, and campus safety and accessibility.
Monday 1/22 10:00-11:00am: Who Does That? A guide to which offices provide which services to campus, using real-life scenarios
Join us for this interactive C&E week kick-off event. You can learn who you should contact around campus depending on the situations you may find yourself in and put a friendly face to a name when representatives of partner offices give a description of what they do.
Tuesday 1/23 10:00-11:00am: Office of the University Registrar
Dr. Helen B. Garrett, University Registrar, explains FERPA basics and answers your questions relating to the proper management of student records.
Wednesday 1/24 10:00-11:00am: Privacy Office
The primary mission of the University of Washington is the preservation, advancement, and dissemination of knowledge. How do we fulfill that mission even as we shield against harms certain information can contribute to? Privacy laws protect some kinds of personal data. There’s also lots of data that isn’t legally protected that can create risks to the individual and the UW if not managed appropriately. Learn about potential harms involved when using personal data so that you can recognize the risks involved with your UW unit’s activities.
Thursday 1/25 10:00-11:00am: Office of Information Security
We all have a role to play in securing UW data. Learn best practices and policies in this session with the UW Office of Information Security.
Click here to access the Zoom event (UW NetID required)
Click here to add to your Outlook calendar
Friday 1/26 10:00-11:00am: ROT Squad Live: Plan Your Shared Storage Location Clean-up
Your office might need to clean out your shared drive, OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams library, or other shared storage location, but how do you ensure success? The ROT Squad (which stands for Redundant, Obsolete, or Transitory records) has helped offices all around the UW clean up their records, and they’ve got hard won wisdom, tips and tricks to share with you. Optionally, you can start creating a cleanup project plan using our template in advance of the event.
Click here to access the Zoom event (UW NetID required)
Click here to add to your Outlook calendar
Sign up for our newsletter to learn about future events
Records Management Self-Assessment
We designed these questions to indicate how well you or your department are managing your records. This self-assessment is meant to help identify gaps and provide detailed, specific next actions you can take to improve your compliance with Federal, State, and UW’s records management requirements and best practices. This survey will take less than 10 minutes to complete. At the beginning and end of this form, you will have the opportunity to request your responses to be sent to you via email. This will help you track our recommended next actions for your improved compliance. RMS will not review your responses unless you request us to do so.
Click here to begin the RMS Self-Assessment
Compliance & Ethics Week Tasks
Records Management
- Browse our General Records Retention Schedule or your office’s Departmental Records Retention Schedule to find out when to purge the records in your office. Contact us if you have any questions.
- Commit to disposing of transitory records that no longer have an administrative purpose. Check out this list to get started.
- Consider whether your records are organized in a way that makes it easy to do your work. Take a look at Best Practices for Folder Structures and Recommendations on File/Folder Naming Conventions to identify aspects that could be improved. Email our resident expert if you need any advice.
ADA Coordinator
- Follow procurement steps to ensure products developed, purchased, or used are accessible
- Use an accessibility checker on your website: website accessibility resource
- Review your high use and public documents for accessibility: document accessibility resource
- Embed captions into all your videos: accessible videos resource
Office of Information Security
- Review the OIS's Security 101 training to learn about threats and best practices
- Review the new cybersecurity training videos on our website
- Secure your accounts, data, and institutional assets with unique passwords and two-factor authentication (2FA).
- Secure personal and UW data and devices, such as laptops, with encryption and encrypted connections, such as Husky OnNet and eduroam.
Office of Export Controls
- Commit to understanding and identifying potential export limitations before engaging in activities that involve an export. Be aware that exports can include transfers to foreign persons located within the United States. Contact us with any questions.
- Review our guidance on research activities that may be subject to the export control regulations.
- Contact us for instructions on how to access online self-paced training on export controls.
Environmental Health & Safety
- Review the University’s Accident Prevention Plan and your department or unit Supplemental Accident Prevention Plan.
- Complete all required and recommended safety training courses.
Human Resources
- Check out required workplace posters regarding employment rights, and viewing locations https://hr.uw.edu/workplace-posters/
- Review these guidelines and processes for providing job performance references: https://hr.uw.edu/policies/providing-work-references-to-prospective-employers/
- All UW employees are required to attend these training sessions, with a few exceptions as noted on the webpage: https://hr.uw.edu/talent/onboarding/required-employee-training/
- Check that your coworkers are clear on the topic of Remote I-9s. HR receives questions about on how a department’s I-9 coordinator, and new employee, can initiate and complete an I-9 remotely, to ensure that it’s fully complete within three business days of the first day of employment. The ISC guide walks through what to do with the form and in Workday, but it is up to the department and the new employee to establish an “authorized representative” to complete page two of the form I-9: https://isc.uw.edu/user-guides/complete_form_i9_remote_hire/
- Check that you are well-informed about proper hiring processes. UWHR has a website for new and established hiring managers that they wanted to remind the UW community about; it includes required trainings, as well as covering record keeping tips and requirements: https://hr.uw.edu/diversity/dei-related-trainings/trainings-for-hiring-managers/
- Brush up your skills on complaint resolution. The University offers several options for help if you need support in resolving a situation: https://hr.uw.edu/policies/complaint-resolution/
- Learn about the University’s new demographic data use policy of how and when it is appropriate to collect and/or use demographic data, which includes personal information such as home address and gender: https://privacy.uw.edu/reference-materials/policies/demographic-data/)
- Read about ethical standards for UW resources, outside employment, gifts, and conflicts of interest: https://hr.uw.edu/policies/ethics/
Office of Academic Personnel
- Review OAP’s updated Time Off and Leaves page, now that certain leaves are now being administered by UWHR.
- Review the Sexual Misconduct Disclosure process for academic personnel applicants.
- Calendar relevant OAP due dates, listed here.
- Review requirements for job postings pursuant to Washington’s salary disclosure law.
- Review OAP’s guide to posting jobs.
Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity
- Review the 2022-2026 Diversity Blueprint and discuss how you will localize Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging (DEI&B) efforts with your team.
- Incorporate the Diversity Blueprint into your onboarding plan so that all new employees in your organization are aware of the framework and understand how your team’s DEI&B efforts are in alignment with the document.
- Build DEI&B into your performance planning and evaluation to help ensure alignment and accountability across your organization.
Office of Public Records
- Commit to using your work calendar for work tasks and appointments. Note that your Outlook calendar is a public record. Instead of being very specific about personal appointments on your Outlook Calendar, just put “On hold” or “Not available”.
- Make sure that your personal emails are separate from your work emails. If you have any non-work related subscriptions, unsubscribe to those from your work email and resubscribe using your personal email. For any personal conversations that are not related to work, reply to the person that you would like to continue the conversation using your personal email address.
Office of University Registrar
- Commit to monitoring all emails to ensure that education records are not being shared as email attachments. Use shared drives instead.
- Follow Record Retention schedules, purge emails that have met their retention.
- Monitor the TO:, CC: and BCC: in emails and do not share education records outside of to the student and/or a school official unless they have a legitimate educational interest (such as they need access to the education records to perform their job) and a need to know.
- When in doubt, don’t give it out! Refer the question or requester to ferpa@uw.edu for the FERPA experts in the Office of the University Registrar to respond.
Privacy
- Awareness and Accountability: Check that you understand what personal data we have, where it is, and how we use it is fundamental to compliance with privacy requirements. Whether you're just learning about the University's data inventory or well into creating records, continue your data inventory journey.
- Minimization and Protection: Review how Privacy by Design helps you meet legal and ethical responsibilities and incorporate what you learn right from the start. Consider how you can achieve your workplace goals while minimizing the personal data you gather and retain. Whether you're beginning a data sharing relationship or renewing one, ensure appropriate agreements are in place.
SafeCampus
- Make sure your office has a listing of emergency contacts for current employees, and that people know where that information is stored.
- Check whether you have listed your personal cell phone in your work email signature. It is better not to include it there so that you can protect the privacy of your personal information. UW-IT has several options for working remotely that do not require you to give out your cell phone number.
- Enter the SafeCampus phone number into your phone so that you have it at your fingertips in case you have a future safety concern: 206-685-7233.
- Check with your colleagues to see if you are interested in requesting a future tailored safety training for your office. If you are, fill out the “Tailored Training Request Form” on this page.
Sustainability
- Opt out of Paper W-2s by visiting this link.
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Look around your office for items that are not being used. By law, all unwanted University property must be surplused, regardless of condition. UW Surplus works to keep items out of the landfill where possible, by reselling usable items and working to recycle or responsibly dispose of items that can no longer be used. Learn more at UW Surplus: https://facilities.uw.edu/catalog/surplus.
- Take the UW Recycling training to make sure you are on the right track: Intro to Recycling & Waste Diversion at UW Seattle.
Title IX
- Starting this year all UW employees are encouraged to share concerns related to sex- and gender-based violence, harassment, and discrimination through the new online Title IX reporting form. Learn more by reviewing the FAQs on the Title IX “Make a Report” page.
- Review supportive measures available if an individual has experienced sex- and gender-based violence, harassment, or discrimination.
- Remind yourself of the support and protections available to ensure students and employees who are pregnant or experiencing pregnancy-related conditions are not denied or limited in their access to educational programs or activities.
Youth Protection
- As a UW employee or volunteer, you are a mandated reporter of child abuse and neglect. For a refresher of your responsibilities, review this webpage. Have you taken the required online training? You can find it here.
- Do you lead, host, or engage with youth as part of your UW responsibilities? Review these University requirements for youth programs and research, and register any youth programs or research that you are responsible for.
Office of Merchant Services
- Use only OMS approved terminals or eCommerce products.
- Reacquaint yourself and your staff with UW Merchant Responsibilities as well as other Merchant Policies, Standards, and Guidance.
- Ensure you and any of your staff that works with Cardholder Data are enrolled in and have completed the annual PCI Compliance Training. Direct supervisors of these employees should also complete this training.
Office of Animal Welfare
- Review current lab practices and ensure that all animal activities are being conducted in accordance with your approved IACUC protocol.
- Verify that all lab members performing animal work have completed the required training courses and procedure certifications.
Enterprise Document Management
- Visit the Document Management System Customer Support Portal for FAQs, user guides, policy information, and more.
- Ensure that all of your record types to be stored in DocFinity have a corresponding record series, trigger date, and retention schedule.
- Identify the members of your team that will serve as the Records Authority and Records Coordinator.
- Once your use case is set up, keep your team’s DocFinity access group membership up to date and make sure they have the permissions to perform the functions they need.
- Check out the eSignatures IT Connect page for FAQs, links to DocuSign training materials, service updates, and more.
- When using eSignatures (DocuSign), ensure that your team’s access (both Senders and Delegated Administrators) is current.
- Contact the Enterprise Document Management team if you need help transferring or sharing materials in DocuSign.
- Establish a process for storing records outside of DocuSign.
Office of Research Misconduct Proceedings
- Review Executive Order 61 to confirm understanding of what constitutes research misconduct. Be aware of the consequences of committing such an act and your responsibility as faculty, staff, or students to cooperate in research misconduct proceedings, should they arise. Contact them with any questions.
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Deepen your learning by listening to the 2022 Research Misconduct Biomedical Research Integrity (BRI) lecture presented by ORMP’s director, which covers how to identify and avoid detrimental research practices (DRPs) and the history of research misconduct.