The Compass September 2022 Vol 11
Guidance for University leaders on governance topics facing UToledo and our peer institutions
Thought for the DAY
“Because things are the way they are, things will not stay the way they are.”
- Bertolt Brecht
Anonymous Reporting, Part 2
I've routinely said in presentations that the greatest risks we face are those issues
or events that can impact the real (and perceived) safety of campus by students and
parents. It is vital in today's world that we take actions to keep our communities
safe and create a culture where people will speak up if they see things of concern.
In a somewhat related topic, we've noticed both here at our campus and in conversations
with our colleagues that anonymous reports have increased post-pandemic. Many of these,
I'd venture to say the majority even, are interpersonal issues between faculty, staff,
and students, and oftentimes are not supported by facts or evidence. The ability to
get along with colleagues appears to be slipping, and that is not a good thing in
my view.
Collegiality is defined as ''cooperation between colleagues who share responsibility.''
We need collegiality to remain the rule as we share a responsibility in our industry
to maintain a culture of excellence in education, healthcare, research, and outreach
(however that looks in your sphere of influence). So maybe today be a little more
patient and a little kinder, and your world and mine might see fewer of these interpersonal
reports that have risen lately. Collegiality is an indication of strength, not weakness.
There are many risk-related topics that deserve our attention in higher education.
We again invite you to review the events noted over the past quarter with a view toward
proactively managing risk. As always, we welcome your comments and suggestions.
David L. Cutri, CPA, CISA, CIA
Executive Director of Internal Audit and Chief Compliance Officer
Internal Audit and Compliance
Abortion Laws
If a University of Michigan student walks into the school's Ann Arbor health center and learns they're pregnant, the health worker's response is never the same. "It's easy to list: 'Well, you can continue a pregnancy, or you can consider a medication abortion or ... a surgical procedure,'" says Dr. Susan Dwyer Ernst, chief of gynecology at the University of Michigan Health Service. In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade, Ernst has been thinking a lot about how those conversations with students will change.
Whistleblower Lawsuit
A whistleblower lawsuit filed by a former attorney at the University of Louisville alleges she was demoted and punished for reporting an assistant basketball coach for attempted extortion, and that she experienced pushback from the then-President for doing so. Amy Shoemaker, an associate general counsel for the University of Louisville and associate athletic director, alleges in the lawsuit that she was effectively “frozen out” of her job after she reported then-assistant basketball coach's efforts at extortion to police.
Libel Lawsuit
Oberlin College racked up more than $4 million in interest after not paying the more than $30 million in libel damages to a local family-run bakery over false racism allegations made in 2016. Gibson's Bakery was awarded $31.6 million in July of 2019 after students and a college official were found guilty of libeling the establishment as "racist" following an altercation a store employee had with three Black students. The judgment now stands at more than $36 million after the school accumulated $4,300 daily in interest over the more than 1,000 days it went unpaid, local outlet The Chronicle reported last month.
Fetal Tissue in Research
A proxy fight over abortion led by state House Republicans jeopardizes hundreds of millions of dollars in tuition assistance for Pennsylvania college students. At issue is public funding for Pennsylvania's four state-related universities -- Lincoln University, Penn State University, Temple University, and the University of Pittsburgh. On Monday, the state House voted 108-92 to approve an amendment that would require the schools to swear under oath they do not "engage in research or experimentation using fetal tissue obtained from an elective abortion" to receive state funding.
Housing
About 440 UNC Charlotte students still need university-run housing ahead of the start of the new semester that begins next month, university officials said Thursday. “It's an unexpected number” that still require such housing this time of year, said Christy Jackson, the university's senior director of communications. She said more students who applied for housing decided to stick with it than the university had anticipated. The university has about 6,000 beds and about 8,000 housing applicants, she said.
Burglary
Two men are in Franklin County jail after being arrested in connection with a burglary from an Ohio State University residence hall last week. The university issued a safety alert Tuesday after the burglary, which happened at the Neil Building Hall Complex on the 1500 block of Neil Avenue. According to the alert, the suspects followed a resident into the building, then allegedly entered an unlocked residence hall suite and began taking items.
Extortion
Two unnamed Penn State student-athletes told police they were extorted in the fall by a woman who convinced them — and other athletes across the country — to send sexually explicit images and threatened to publish them online, according to search warrants made public Friday. More than two dozen videos and photos were sent to the woman. That included videos of group sex and videos recorded in the Penn State football locker room depicting athletes in various stages of undress, university police wrote in the warrants.
Lapses in Quality in Online Education?
A survey of more than 300 officials at American colleges shows many institutions plan to expand online programming but few consistently evaluate the quality of those growing courses.
Lapses in Quality in Online Education?
College Vaccine Mandates Saved Lives
Colleges with COVID-19 vaccination requirements reduced the number of positive cases and related deaths in surrounding areas, according to a July working paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research.
College Vaccine Mandates Saved Lives, Report Finds
Government-Led Sham University
The University of Farmington was created by the U.S. government to expose international student visa fraud. Civil rights activists from 40 groups are calling on the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security to investigate.
Federal Investigation of Government-Led Sham University
How Colleges Are Preparing for Monkeypox
Ahead of the new school year, colleges across the country are repurposing the tools they developed during the pandemic to address the monkeypox outbreak, which the White House recently declared a public health emergency. It's a different virus, with different risks, and colleges are having to adapt, says Dr. Lindsey Mortenson of the American College Health Association (ACHA).
How Colleges Are Preparing for Monkeypox
Guidance on Nondiscrimination in Telehealth
On the week of the 32nd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Justice Department and Health and Human Services issued guidance on nondiscrimination in telehealth. The guidance provides clarity on how Federal nondiscrimination laws require accessibility for people with disabilities and limited English proficient persons in health care provided via telehealth.