All NIU employees, including student workers, will be required to complete an annual state-mandated ethics training program starting in October.

Deborah Haliczer, director of employee relations for Human Resources, told the Faculty Senate Wednesday the training session is part of a state law requiring all state officials and employees to complete this training.

“We estimate some 9,000 NIU employees will have to participate,” Haliczer said.

The law has been in effect since Dec. 9 and has been applied to other state offices. State colleges and universities are among the final offices required to comply with the law.

The training program was reworked to fit into scenarios of employees working in higher education, which delayed implementation, Haliczer said.

Training will begin Oct. 18 and must be completed by Nov. 17 for NIU to be compliant with the act.

Officials said they could not estimate how much the training will cost NIU.

Employees active on the payroll on or before Sept. 20 are required to participate and complete the training by the deadline. Anyone hired after that point will be required to complete training within the first six months of employment. Employees will have to repeat the training each year.

The program will be interactive, self-administered and accessible through the Internet. The training has information for participants to read and then poses scenarios tailored to higher education situations. At the end, there are 10 quiz questions.

“I believe we should be aware of our ethical responsibilities,” said Joseph “Buck” Stephen, Faculty Senate vice president. “Being able to pass a questionnaire does not make one ethical.”

Consequences for not taking the quiz have not been set.

“No one has told me what the consequences are of not completing the training,” Haliczer said. “State administrators said we will be in complete compliance.”

Stephen and Haliczer both agreed that the test, regardless of the cost, was a good thing to do.

The program is considered a non-appropriated state mandate, meaning the state of Illinois will provide no money for NIU to comply with the act.

“Mailing four pages costs a lot of money,” Haliczer said. “This is an expensive, time consuming project.”

Special accommodations will be made for employees who do not currently have an Internet logon ID.

Visually impaired employees and employees with language barriers will need special accommodations as well, Haliczer said.

Anyone who needs special arrangements for language or disability issues should call Human Resource Services at 753-6000.

The Faculty Senate will meet again at 3 p.m. Oct. 27 in the Holmes Student Center’s Clara Sperling Sky Room.

People who must participate in the training:

Faculty

Operating staff

Student workers

Supportive professional staff

Graduate assistants

Board of Trustee members

Anyone considered “extra help”, including employees who work limited schedules or temporary workers employed by NIU

Some of the costs associated with the training:

Paper mailings

ITS Help Desk staff

Faculty, staff and student wages

Committee members’ wages

Legal counsel