Our Mission
The Office of Compliance serves as the source of coordination, oversight and support for Universitywide compliance. It is structured recognizing that building and maintaining a global culture of compliance, ethics and integrity are shared responsibilities and require individual commitment from all employees, faculty, trustees, staff, students and vendors the—“community members.” The culture of “shared responsibility” for compliance is woven into the fabric of our organizational culture. It functions to build a collaborative community of compliance throughout the University in accordance with the Code of Ethical Conduct. With the integrated engagement of subject matter specific compliance partners, the Office of Compliance ensures that the University is in compliance with all applicable laws, rules and regulations that impact its operations.
Compliance Program
In furtherance of the University’s mission to assure compliance, the Office of Compliance is focused on the key program structural components as set forth in the U.S. Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations and the U.S. Department of Justice. The structure of the program concentrates on the following component areas: (1) Standards, Policies and Procedures; (2) Compliance Program Administration; (3) Screening and Evaluation of Employees, Vendors and Agents; (4) Communication, Education and Training; (5) Monitoring, Auditing and Internal Reporting Systems; (6) Discipline for Non-Compliance; and (7) Investigation Oversight and Remedial Measures.
Campus Partnerships
As the University operates in an increasingly innovative complex environment with numerous laws and regulations that govern our activities as an institution and many agencies monitoring our activities. The penalties for violating laws and regulations, even when they involve a good faith effort, are often severe. For this reason, the Office of Compliance actively collaborates with its compliance partners, including but not limited to Athletics; Business, Finance and Accounting; Campus Planning and Facilities; Development; Environmental Health and Safety; Information Technology; Internal Audit; Labor and Employment; Public Safety; Research; Risk Management; Student Affairs; and other key essential functions to maintain compliance throughout the University community.
Transparency, Collaboration, Accountability and Integrity
The Office of Compliance is committed to an environment where transparency, collaboration, accountability, and integrity are the expectation, not the exception. Community Members should feel empowered to raise compliance concerns as well as seek guidance on how to prevent, detect and correct non-compliance.
For more information, email compliance@syr.edu.