The time has come for all NIU employees to take the state Mandatory Ethics Training.

The test began Thursday, and under the State Officials and Employee Ethics Act, “all full-time, part-time, regular and temporary faculty, staff, graduate assistants, extra help and student employees” must complete the training.

“Ethics training includes such things as the gift ban [including bribes], a ban on prohibited political activity, conflict of interest and misuse of university and state resources,” said Deborah Haliczer, director of Employee Relations for Human Resources and ethics training administrator. “The training has different questions incorporated in the test and it has two certification questions at the end. [The first] asks if you have carefully read the material, and the second one asks if you are aware there could be consequences to you if you violate the State Officials and Employee Ethics Act.”

The training is administered through online modules, and new university employees must also take a paper version, which is called ethics orientation, Haliczer said.

Most students understand some of the activities are illegal, such as accepting bribes. But other activities are not as clear cut, such as prohibited political activities on company time.

“Employees are not to wear partisan promotional materials in the workplace, or hand out pamphlets or place it on their desk or put it on their doors [of their workplace],” said Ken Davidson, vice president and general counsel for University Legal Services and university ethics officer. “That’s a direct violation of the statute.”

Another issue that may be hard to grasp is misuse of university and state resources. This could include using university-owned copiers and fax machines to run personal errands, or for passing out partisan political information or petitions.

Davidson said this was one of the primary reasons the State Officials and Employee Ethics Act was enacted.

“There were several abuses of state resources,” Davidson said.

In years past, some employees completed the test in less than 10 minutes, without reading through the information. The objective isn’t to simply pass the test, Haliczer said.

“It’s to remind all state employees of their obligations under the State Officials and Employee Ethics Act,” Haliczer said. “The law says that there has to be annual training on the Act, so every year every employee has to have a refresher course.”

Some student employees feel the ethics test shouldn’t be required every year.

“I don’t see the point in having to do it every year,” said Ceasar Collins, a junior early childhood education major. “Since I had to do it last year I don’t understand why they don’t just let me go back and get the information [from] that one. It’s useless, I feel.”

For questions regarding the ethics training, contact Ken Davidson at 815-753-8364.