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Training and Resources

Effective compliance necessitates that all employees are aware of the compliance requirements and ethical behaviors expected of each of us. Training and awareness are vital components of shaping an ethical culture, and hence have been made a routine part of the employee experience through annual required ethics training. Though training topics and formats vary from year to year, annual ethics training ensures that awareness of the College's ethical standards and expectations remains front-and-center and is consistently reinforced among our diverse workforce.

Ethics Self-Reflection Questionnaire (ESQ) - FY2023

FY23 required training included completion of the Ethics Self-Reflection Questionnaire (ESQ). The ESQ is a short, web-based questionnaire intended to prompt self-reflection and further integrate the College’s ethical expectations into Montgomery College’s culture. This questionnaire presents examples of workplace conduct and asks the participant to rate the extent to which their own behavior accords with each example.

There are separate questionnaires for employees and supervisors:

ESQ for Employeesnew window
ESQ for Supervisorsnew window

Important Notes
  • The Ethics Self-Reflection questionnaire will not store responses or save data in any College system so that employees may evaluate themselves candidly. 
  • The exercise is estimated to take about 10-12 minutes to complete.
  • After completing the questionnaire, employees will need to create a certificate of completion bearing their name as proof of participation to share with their supervisor. 
  • Employees will have to complete the questionnaire again if they did not generate and save the certificate. 
  • Completion of the ESQ was due by December 23, 2022, but employees were able to complete this requirement by June 30, 2023. 
How do I save the ESQ certificate?

After filling in all the responses and receiving your results, there will be a Create Certificate button at the bottom of the webpage that you click to receive your certificate. When you click the Create Certificate button, the ESQ will generate a certificate of completion for you. You will want to retain the certificate generated by the ESQ as proof that you met the FY23 requirement. 

I already completed the ESQ but did not save the certificate. How can I get another copy of the certificate?

If you did not generate and save the certificate when you first completed the ESQ, you will have to complete the ESQ again. Before exiting the ESQ, it's important to create a certificate as proof of your completion.

How can I obtain help if I’m having trouble generating my certificate for the ESQ?

If you’ve encountered difficulty with the ESQ certificate, please reach out to the IT Service Desk to describe what happened when you finished the questionnaire and tried to generate the certificate. Some users have experienced this issue due to browser version and settings, which IT is helping to troubleshoot.

Please contact the Office of Compliance, Risk, and Ethics at ethics@montgomerycollege.edu with additional questions.

 

Managers Toolkit

As part of efforts to foster a strong ethical culture at Montgomery College, please note these special resources for managers and supervisors for compliance and ethics information. We encourage managers to share this critical information with their teams. All employees are welcome to utilize these resources. Please contact ethics@montgomerycollege.edu with any questions.

Responsibilities of Leadership

(from the MC Code of Ethics and Employee Conduct Handbooknew window)

Montgomery College employees in supervisory positions are the foundation of college leadership, and their role carries several additional responsibilities.

First and foremost, it is important for supervisors to lead by example. By working ethically and demonstrating high standards for self and others, you support and encourage a civil and professional work environment.

When establishing and maintaining their unit, supervisors need to set clear expectations and discuss those expectations with employees so they have an adequate understanding of our Code of Ethics and Employee Standards of Conduct (PDF, Get Adobe Acrobat PDF Reader.-Link opens in new window.) . They must make sure to provide access to resources and strive to promote a culture where employees feel comfortable asking questions and voicing concerns.

College leaders should also continually work to encourage the development of personnel, acknowledge and retain competent personnel, and seek ways to sustain a high level of morale within their units.

Remember, it is never right to retaliate or tolerate retaliation against any employee for raising concerns that he or she believes to be true.

The Ethical Expectations (PDF, Get Adobe Acrobat PDF Reader.-Link opens in new window.) materials provide frameworks for each of the seven expectations or standards outlined in the Montgomery College Code of Ethics, Policy and Procedure 31000–Code of Ethics and Employee Conduct (PDF, Get Adobe Acrobat PDF Reader.-Link opens in new window.) .

The guide is intended to increase our institutional commitment to and practice of our ethical values. There are many ways to use this guide:

  • Have team discussions about the ethical expectations, using the handbook as guidance.
  • Encourage conversation around each value, one team meeting at a time.
  • For areas of concerning behavior in your team, use the handbook to guide desirable behavior and offer some resources for further work.
  • Review the handbook and select portions of it that you or your team would benefit from reviewing. Incorporate it into team or individual discussions.

Employees are encouraged to talk with their management regarding their concerns. Employees also have the option to share concerns of any nature to a confidential reporting line. Montgomery College uses the EthicsPoint reporting linenew window, which is a confidential and anonymous third-party reporting line.

The College has developed a roadmap to help employees understand where to go to address different types of concerns: Roadmap for Employees to Address Concerns (PDF, Get Adobe Acrobat PDF Reader.-Link opens in new window.)

The College is committed to protecting individuals from interference with reporting wrongdoing and from retaliation for making a report in good faith. No individual who in good faith reports a suspected violation shall thereby suffer harassment, retaliation, or adverse employment, academic, or educational consequence. For more information, please consult Montgomery College’s Policy and Procedure 39003–Protection Against Retaliation (PDF, Get Adobe Acrobat PDF Reader.-Link opens in new window.) and Policy and Procedure 61008–Reporting Suspected Acts of Wrongdoing (PDF, Get Adobe Acrobat PDF Reader.-Link opens in new window.) .