UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State is launching the 2022 Living Our Values Survey on Nov. 7 as part of the University’s commitment to the Penn State Values, non-retaliation for those who report wrongdoing, and the highest level of ethical decision-making across the University.
A continuation of the Values and Culture Surveys undertaken in 2017 and 2013, the survey is an important tool to help University leadership understand how the Penn State Values of integrity, respect, responsibility, discovery, excellence and community are integrated into Penn Staters’ day-to-day lives. The survey also aims to measure community members’ actual and perceived ability to report misconduct and wrongdoing without the threat of retaliation, which is a critical piece of building an open and ethical University culture.
All faculty, staff, graduate students, technical service employees and post-doctoral fellows across all campuses, including Penn State World Campus, should receive an email with a unique link to participate in the survey on Nov. 7 from the Ethics and Compliance Initiative, a nonprofit that is serving as Penn State’s third-party administrator for this survey. The survey link will be sent by ethicssurvey@ethics.org. The survey will be open through Nov. 30.
“Our commitment to the Penn State Values serves as our guidepost as an institution, helping drive our decision making at every level,” said Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi. “We want to hear your honest feedback about where Penn State is doing well, but also about where we have room for improvement, so that we can continue to improve and grow as an institution. By participating in the Living Our Values Survey, you are helping our University continue to foster a culture of accountability, one in which all Penn Staters can feel respected, secure and empowered as members of our community.”
All survey responses are strictly confidential, and Penn State will only be provided aggregated data with all identifying information removed. Additionally, if only a small number of community members within a particular unit or area of the University respond, data from those responses will not be shared with Penn State in order to protect the confidentiality of those respondents. The survey has been streamlined from previous iterations, and should take only 10-15 minutes to complete.
Following the survey, all units across the University will use the data from the survey responses to identify key issues and create action plans to address these topics. These action plans will be incorporated into the unit-level strategic planning process, creating accountability and oversight for these plans to be put into place. Results and outcomes from the survey will be shared with the University community in the spring 2023 semester, with ongoing updates as new initiatives that grow out of the results continue to move forward.
Previous values surveys have yielded important results, including helping lead to a simplified process for reporting misconduct, the standardization of investigatory and review procedures, and the introduction of new awareness, training and educational programs across the University.
“We strive to realize the Penn State Values and our commitment to high ethical standards in everything we do as a University and as a community,” said Tabitha Oman, Penn State’s chief ethics and compliance officer. “The privacy and confidentiality of all survey respondents is a top priority for the University. We are dedicated to continuing to foster a culture in which all Penn Staters can report wrongdoing without the threat of retaliation, which is against University policy and is not tolerated within our community. By sharing your experiences through this survey, you are helping Penn State to truly live our values in all that we do.”
Penn Staters are always encouraged to report wrongdoing or other concerns and can do so without fear of retaliation. Resources for reporting wrongdoing are available through the Office of Ethics and Compliance.
Community members with questions about reporting wrongdoing or the Living Our Values Survey can reach the Office of Ethics and Compliance at psoec@psu.edu and at 814-867-5088. Penn Staters with questions about the survey can also visit the Office of Ethics and Compliance website for more information, or contact the Ethics and Compliance Initiative directly at 1-800-777-1285 or 1-703-647-2185, or by email at ethicssurvey@ethics.org.