During the summer months with many of our students having left for summer break and employees taking a much needed and deserved vacation we see a lot less foot traffic here on campus. Although our workload doesn’t decrease, the summer months do allow many of us an opportunity to pause and reflect on the work that we’ve accomplished, and more importantly, the employees, students, and community members we’ve been able to assist. This time also allows us to plan for the upcoming academic year.
In reflecting on the past year, I am reminded of two very important initiatives that have been in progress and have reached the finish line. Both of these initiatives resulted in new policies that will most certainly improve the working and learning environment. The first, UCF Policy 2-006 Digital Accessibility addresses how we ensure our technology and digital environments are available to all members of the university community, including people with disabilities. The second, UCF Policy 3-013 Non-student Hourly Other Personnel Services (OPS) Employment addresses temporary employment here at UCF and once fully implemented will provide a better working experience for our non-student hourly OPS employees. Both policies are featured in separate articles containing more information and I encourage you to read them both.
Speaking of an improved working and learning environment, one way each of us can contribute to this effort is to make good ethical choices, especially as it relates to how we treat one another. I believe we all want to work in a collegial workplace, where each of us can speaking freely while doing so respectfully. As is reflected in our Ethical Standards, we respect the ideas of others, even when they differ from our own. We do not bully or mistreat others for any reason. That brings us to the next article we’ve included in this edition titled Team Player. Although it is a fictional story there is much we can gather from it, namely how important our own actions are in maintaining a place where we all want to work and learn. Q&As on the article are also continued in the FAQs section. As always, we’ve included a fun cartoon and an educational video on the topic. There’s also a short and engaging video on Fraud Awareness in the Audit Unlocked section.
Thank you all for taking the time to read the IntegrityStar. As always, we welcome your suggestions for topics as well as your feedback. Please write to us at complianceandethics@ucf.edu.