UCF IntegrityLine Report
January 1, 2021, to December 31, 2021
University Compliance, Ethics, and Risk

Highest Number of Reports by Issue Type

All Issue Types
Reports submitted to the UCF IntegrityLine in 2021 spanned a total of 24 issue types.

Closed Cases
University Compliance, Ethics, and Risk closed 483 IntegrityLine cases during the 2021 calendar year, an increase (6%) from the 453 cases closed in 2020. Closed cases include a combination of reports received in 2021 as well as those submitted in a previous year. Below are the outcomes for all cases closed in 2021.

Closed Cases – Investigations with Substantiated and Unsubstantiated Findings

In 2021, a total of 215 of the 483 cases were closed after an investigation was conducted by University Compliance and Ethics, the Office of Institutional Equity, or University Audit with the following outcomes:

Substantiated Cases

One hundred and thirty (130) cases investigated resulted in a substantiated finding (representing 27% of all closed cases) 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 Discrimination or Harassment at 81% (of which involved multiple cases concerning the same employee).

Substantiated Cases – Action Taken

For the 130 cases investigated that resulted in substantiated findings, the university took the appropriate action. Those actions included policy / process reviews, disciplinary action, and termination.*The 117 cases involved multiple reports regarding the same two employees which resulted in termination.

Unsubstantiated Cases 

The remaining 85 cases (17% of closed cases) investigated by University Compliance, Ethics, and Risk, University Audit, or the Office of Institutional Equity yielded insufficient or no evidence to support that misconduct occurred and were closed with an unsubstantiated outcome. Despite the unsubstantiated finding, 21 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

Two hundred and sixty-eight (268) cases were not investigated by University Compliance, Ethics, and Risk, University Audit, or the Office of Institutional Equity and were either referred out of the system or to another office or closed due to insufficient information.

Referred
A total of 209 cases (43% of all closed cases) were referred as follows:

• One hundred and fifteen (115) cases 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, COVID-19 policy violations, 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.
• The remaining 94 cases were referred to a college or department to conduct an internal review and report back their findings.

Referred – Substantiated
Forty-seven (47) of the 94 cases reviewed internally by a college or department resulted in a substantiated finding with the following issue types.

Referred – Substantiated – Action Taken
The actions taken for the 47 referred cases that were substantiated were as follows:

Referred – Unsubstantiated
The remaining 47 referred cases were unsubstantiated. However, 24 required improvements due to identified weaknesses which included policy or process reviews.

Insufficient Information
For 59 cases (12% of all closed cases), questions were posted to the complainant requesting additional information with no response. These cases were closed due to insufficient information.

2021 IntegrityLine Trends

Due to the ongoing pandemic, it was not surprising that the highest number of reports submitted to the IntegrityLine in 2021 were categorized as Environmental and Safety Matters with a total of 94 reports representing 27% of all reports submitted. Consistent communications from leadership, increased awareness surrounding the COVID-19 website and the UCF COVID Line attributed to reporting of allegations regarding non-compliance with COVID-19 emergency policies.

With 88 reports, representing 25% of all reports submitted, the second highest reported issue type was Offensive or Inappropriate Communication. This issue type includes concerns related to inflammatory, derogatory, unduly critical, or insulting communication and failure to treat one another with respect in accordance with the UCF Ethical Standards outlined in the UCF Employee Code of Conduct. This increased trend in reporting was identified in 2019 and again in 2020. In response, the office has worked with Human Resources to develop training and awareness on civility and respect for employees and supervisors as outlined in the 2020 UCF IntegrityLine report. Additional actions taken this year towards this effort include:

• Adding a module titled Respecting Others to the annual 2021 Code of Conduct refresher training required of all non-student employees
• Featuring in the October 2021 edition of the IntegrityStar articles that highlight the need for respectful interactions which included an article titled Resolving Workplace Conflicts and a “Case Corner” investigation article summarizing outcomes from a harassment and bullying case
• Launching a superhero theme training on civility titled, Civility Superheroes, during Compliance and Ethics Week held in November, 2021 and awarded prizes for completion

The Compliance and Ethics Culture Survey will be repeated in the spring of 2022 to gauge the current compliance and ethical culture at UCF. Results from this survey will help to inform our continued efforts towards improving civil and respectful workplace interactions.