Administration

2018-19 annual compliance training available Oct. 24

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A new 2018-19 version of the mandatory Annual Compliance Training (ACT) course for University employees and others will be released on Oct. 24. To improve reporting and minimize confusion, information on web accessibility has been added to the course, as well as new content focusing on the Penn State Hotline and what happens after misconduct is reported.

“Sometimes people are hesitant to report misconduct because they aren’t sure what will happen next,” said Gary Langsdale, interim chief ethics and compliance officer. “Hopefully, by educating people on the process, we can reduce some of that worry. We also know that it’s frustrating for those who do report, then feel that nothing has been done about their concern. So, this new module explains the kind of information we need to have included in a report in order to properly investigate, and reiterates that actions taken as a result of a report may not always be publicly visible due to personnel or privacy concerns.”

For the majority of Penn State employees, graduate assistants and graduate fellows, the 30-minute ACT is the only University-wide compliance training course necessary on an annual basis. New employees and Mandated Reporters need to complete additional training courses, which are outlined on the Office of Ethics and Compliance website.

In order to provide employees with ample opportunities for completion, the deadline for completion will be Feb. 22, 2019. As in previous years, general salary increase (GSI) eligibility will be tied to completion of the ACT, with individuals who remain incomplete as of Feb. 22 being ineligible for GSI. Previous technical issues involving duplicate accounts and inaccurate assignments in the training system have now been resolved, and employees have been advised that notifications from the system should no longer be disregarded.

A full listing of globally-required compliance training and recommendations for supervisors regarding consequences for noncompliance can be found on the Office of Ethics and Compliance website at https://universityethics.psu.edu/compliance-training-plan.

For more questions about the ACT, email psoec@psu.edu.

Last Updated October 9, 2018