Oklahoma State University has processes in place to allow employees to “confidentially report activities that may involve criminal, unethical, or otherwise inappropriate behavior in violation of OSU policies,” but more than a dozen current and former CVM staff members shared first-hand experiences which they believe proves that the process is unreliable regarding the College of Veterinary Medicine.
“A lot of us have put in EthicsPoints about the same things, the same people, the same issues, and nothing ever gets done,” one CVM staffer told us. “They don’t even bother to tell us if they looked into anything. Sending EthicsPoints is just throwing things into a black hole.”
This belief was echoed by no fewer than a dozen other staffers, all of whom report that the EthicsPoints system is not trusted at CVM.
“We don’t even believe it’s confidential,” another staffer told us. “Look at who gets fired here.” This staffer further clarified that there is widespread belief among CVM staff, and particularly at the Teaching Hospital, that the EthicsPoints system may be monitored by CVM and Teaching Hospital leadership. “People get fired for sending EthicsPoints. We’re not stupid, when you tell people why they’re getting fired and it’s the same EthicsPoints they sent in, obviously it isn’t confidential.”
CVM Independent is unable to confirm these allegations, but these staffers views align with reports that College Human Resources personnel are deeply mistrusted by staff.