UCF IntegrityLine Report
January 1, 2023, to December 31, 2023
During the 2023 calendar year, the UCF IntegrityLine received a total of 262 reports. Of these reports 253 contained allegations of suspected misconduct or ethical concerns and nine reports were inquiries. Reports containing allegations of misconduct were triaged between University Compliance and Ethics and University Audit. Based on the nature of the report, it was either investigated by University Compliance and Ethics, the Office of Institutional Equity, University Audit, or referred to the appropriate compliance partner for review. Reports involving students under the UCF Golden Rule were referred to the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities. Reports criminal in nature were referred to the UCF Police Department.
Highest Number of Reports by Issue Type
All Issue Types
Reports submitted to the UCF IntegrityLine in 2023 spanned a total of 20 issue types.
Closed Cases
During the 2023 calendar year, University Compliance and Ethics closed a total of 285 reports which included eight inquiries and 277 cases that alleged misconduct. Closed cases include a combination of cases received in 2023 as well as those submitted in a previous year. Below are the outcomes for the 277 cases closed in 2023.
Closed Cases – Investigations with Substantiated and Unsubstantiated Findings
In 2023, a total of 84 of the 277 cases were closed after an investigation was conducted by University Compliance and Ethics, the Office of Institutional Equity, or University Audit. Additionally, University Compliance and Ethics oversaw and guided 59 investigations in conjunction with colleges and departments, providing guidance on appropriate corrective action when needed. The following are the outcomes of the investigations.
Substantiated Cases
Twenty-four cases investigated resulted in a substantiated finding (representing 9% of all closed cases that alleged misconduct) where investigations yielded evidence to support the complaint and a finding that misconduct occurred. The substantiated cases spanned a range of topics, with the highest in the category of Environmental and Safety Matters.
Substantiated Cases – Action Taken
For the 24 cases investigated that resulted in substantiated findings, the university took the appropriate action. Those actions included policy / process reviews, training, disciplinary action, and termination.
Unsubstantiated Cases
The remaining 119 cases (43% of closed cases that alleged misconduct) investigated yielded insufficient or no evidence to support that misconduct occurred and were closed with an unsubstantiated outcome. Despite the unsubstantiated finding, 63 of the cases resulted in recommendations for improvements such as a review in a policy, process, or training due to identified weaknesses.
Closed Cases – Referred or Insufficient Information
One hundred and thirty-four (134) cases were not investigated. Those cases were either referred out of the system or to another office or closed due to insufficient information.
Referred
A total of 70 cases (25% of all closed cases that alleged misconduct) were referred to the UCF Police Department, Student Conduct, or another college or department to address through the appropriate university process and closed out in the IntegrityLine system. These cases span the range of issues involving student misconduct such as alleged alcohol or drug abuse, grade disputes, and interpersonal conflicts. Once the report is referred to the appropriate office, it is closed in the IntegrityLine system with a message posted back to the complainant.
Insufficient Information
For 64 cases (23.10% of all closed cases that alleged misconduct), questions were posted to the complainant requesting additional information with no response. These cases were closed due to insufficient information.
2023 IntegrityLine Trends
Since 2019 the office has monitored IntegrityLine reports with the issue type Offensive or Inappropriate Communication. These types of reports relate to inflammatory, derogatory, unduly critical, or insulting communication, including bullying, and employee’s failure to treat one another with respect in accordance with the UCF Ethical Standards. In collaboration with Human Resources, the office developed a communication, education, and awareness campaign to increase civility in the workplace. Throughout 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023, the office delivered training and education on this topic and monitored IntegrityLine reports as well as culture survey responses to gauge the effectiveness of the efforts. We are pleased to report that IntegrityLine reports with this issue type significantly dropped from 66 in 2022, down to 33 reports in 2023 indicating a very positive trend in this area.
We continue to evaluate opportunities to expand the education and awareness program with the overall goal to improve the workplace and support the university’s strategic plan aspiration to make UCF a best place to learn and work.