| University of Michigan
Statement on Stewardship
Stewardship Responsibilities in the Management
of Human, Financial, Physical and Information Resources
Professional Responsibility Statement
Stewardship: "The careful and responsible
management of something entrusted to one's care." Merriam-Webster's
Online Collegiate Dictionary, 2001.
As someone with administrative or supervisory responsibilities,
you have a stewardship responsibility to support and enhance
the mission of the University, to ensure that the University
fulfills its legal and financial obligations to internal and
external stakeholders, to safeguard the University's financial,
human, information and physical assets, and to create an atmosphere
that encourages all members of the University community to
contribute to the overall excellence of the University.
This statement outlines your fundamental responsibilities
inherent in functioning as a steward of University resources.
It is intended to introduce these responsibilities to employees
who are new to the University or their roles, and to guide
longer-term employees. This statement on stewardship refers
you to University documents and offices where you will find
assistance regarding specific policies and procedures or forms.
In addition, each campus and major unit has its own policies
and procedures that are consistent with and supplemental to
those that apply University-wide.
Contents In Brief
1) Stewardship of Human Resources
2) Stewardship of Financial Resources
3) Stewardship of Physical Resources,
the Environment and Safety
4) Stewardship of Information
5) Compliance with Legal Obligations
6) Protection and Assistance Afforded
by the University
Stewardship of Human Resources
It is vital that the University foster learning, creativity
and productivity, and support the vigorous exchange of ideas
and information, not only in the classroom but in the work
place environment as well. Stewardship of the University's
human resources involves creating a work environment in which
people treat each other with respect and dignity, regardless
of their roles, responsibilities or differences. Further,
it involves providing others with support, direction, and
resources to allow them to accomplish the responsibilities
of their jobs and to reach the goals that you set with them
for professional and personal growth. As a steward of human
resources your fundamental responsibilities, professionally
and personally, include:
- Learning, following and upholding the University's
policies in human resource management, diversity and affirmative
action, including applicable external policies, and governmental
and regulatory requirements.
- Maintaining high ethical standards and demonstrating
integrity, honesty and trustworthiness in all that you do
as a representative of the University.
- Respecting the academic and scholarly mission
of the University as well as the diverse contributions of
each employee that, directly or indirectly, help the University
achieve its mission.
- Creating a positive and healthy work environment
that will foster creativity, teamwork, collaboration and
productivity among members of the University community.
- Hiring and retaining qualified and productive
employees.
- Maintaining internal title and salary equity.
- Maintaining effective and efficient work
processes that support the decentralized organization of
the University, and minimizing waste and duplication.
- Seeking ways to continuously improve and
innovate the work processes that you control or in which
you participate. This includes openly sharing improvement
strategies and lessons to help others learn from your experiences.
- Practicing open and direct communication
in the workplace with empathy for other perspectives and
reactions.
- Exerting a positive influence in the work
place through your words and deeds.
- Participating in candid, developmentally
oriented performance discussions to identify the progress
that you and others are making in meeting assigned responsibilities
and moving towards future goals. This includes creating
professional development plans to assist others in the acquisition
of new skills and knowledge through education, training,
networking and mentoring.
- Creating a work place where members share
responsibility for supporting its missions and receive appropriate
recognition for their contributions.
- Maintaining the confidentiality of University
human resource data and information as required.
- Managing outside affiliations in a manner
that is non-competitive with the University's missions.
- Seeking an appropriate work-life balance
as a way of ensuring personal and professional effectiveness
for you and for others.
- Developing and sharing information on career
paths and ladders.
For further information, contact the Human Resources
representative in your unit or the Human Resources office
on the Ann Arbor, Dearborn or Flint campuses, access the University Human Resources website: http://hr.umich.edu/,
or the Standard Practice Guide: http://www.umich.edu/~spgonlin/.
Some of the specific sections of the Standard Practice Guide
that may be helpful to you are as follows: Section 201.7 Salary
Program; Section 201.8 Grievance Procedure and Dispute Resolution;
Section 201.9 Consultation and Conciliation; Section 201.12
Discipline - Performance and Conduct Standards; Section 201.14
Faculty and Staff Assistance Program; Section 201.41 Performance
Evaluations; Section 201.60-1 Staff Development Philosophy;
Section 201.69 Tuition Support Program; Section 201.82 EEO
- Affirmative Action Policy.
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Stewardship of Financial
Resources
The University of Michigan's financial statements are prepared
in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles
and are audited annually against those standards. Stewardship
of the University's financial resources is the responsibility
of all employees. For people with administrative or supervisory
responsibilities, financial stewardship typically includes
developing, implementing, maintaining and following proper
administrative and accounting procedures, as well as complying
with all relevant governmental and regulatory requirements.
As a steward, your fundamental responsibilities include:
- Learning, following and upholding financial
policies established by the University, external agencies
and individuals.
- Developing processes and procedures in accordance
with record-keeping requirements established by the University
and external regulatory agencies.
- Expending or committing funds within approved
University budgets using appropriate financial, accounting,
purchasing and other approved University procedures, and
maintaining records appropriate to these transactions.
- Using Purchasing services to ensure fair
and competitive prices. Utilize the University's internal
service providers if they provide the needed specifications
and financial competitiveness.
- Monitoring your current expenditures and
revenues regularly for accountability purposes including
the proper reporting of time and effort and correct payment
of wages to employees and payments to vendors.
- Constructing budgets based on a thorough
analysis of need that conforms to University budgetary guidelines
and processes.
- Establishing basic internal controls to ensure
that transactions are appropriately executed and recorded,
including segregation of duties to maintain appropriate
checks and balances.
- Being alert to control weaknesses that can
lead to waste, misuse, misappropriation or destruction of
assets (including data and data integrity) and taking action
to correct such weaknesses.
- Reporting to an appropriate University authority
all suspected or known misappropriations, misuses, destruction
of assets (including data and data integrity) and conflicts
of interest.
- Maintaining the confidentiality of University
financial information as required.
- Performing periodic internal reviews to ensure
continued compliance with University financial policies
and administrative and accounting procedures.
- Maintaining systems security and a secure
computer environment for financial and other University
records.
- Maintaining systems availability while monitoring
and reporting the nature and extent of processing problems.
For additional information, contact the financial
or business manager in your unit, or access the following
Business and Finance website: http://www.umich.edu/~avpf/.
You can also contact the Office of the Executive Vice President
and Chief Financial Officer on the Ann Arbor Campus, the Office
of Business Affairs on the Dearborn Campus, or the Office
of the Vice Chancellor for Administration on the Flint campus.
Any inappropriate use of University assets should be brought
to the attention of University Audits. The Standard Practice
Guide (SPG) provides more detailed information about many
of the above Stewardship statements and is available at: http://www.umich.edu/~spgonlin/.
Some of the specific SPG sections are as follows: Section
500.01 Fiscal responsibilities of a Project Director; Section
501 Financial Operations; Section 502 Sales and Cash Collections;
Section 507.1 Purchasing General Policies and Procedures;
and Section 604.1 Record Retention.
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Stewardship of Physical Resources,
the Environment and Safety
The physical resources that constitute the buildings, grounds
and equipment of the University of Michigan are among its
most valuable resources. These physical assets have been created
or acquired over many years and represent to the general public
and to the citizens of the State of Michigan the physical
embodiment of the University. As a steward your fundamental
responsibilities include:
- Learning, following and upholding University
policies dealing with physical resources, the environment,
equipment and safety.
- Protecting, preserving and maintaining the
physical assets for which you are responsible in a manner
that assures their continued existence in the best possible
condition.
- Promoting the efficient utilization of space.
- Participating in the responsible occupancy
and operation of University buildings, offices, classrooms,
equipment, etc.
- Promoting a safe and healthy environment
for members of the University community, visitors and others.
- Disposal of University assets in a responsible
manner that follows University guidelines.
For additional information, contact the Office
of the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
on the Ann Arbor Campus, the Office of Business Affairs on
the Dearborn Campus, or the Office of the Vice Chancellor
for Administration on the Flint campus. The Standard Practice
Guide (SPG) provides more detailed information about many
of the above Stewardship statements and is available at: http://www.umich.edu/~spgonlin/.
Some of the specific SPG references are as follows: Section
510.1-2 Department of Public Safety and Security; Section
511.1 Transportation Services; Section 514.1 Parking Operations;
and Section 605.1 Occupational Safety and Environmental Health
Policy. You may also wish to access the Business and Finance
website: http://www.umich.edu/UM-Administration.html#finance.
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Stewardship of Information
and Technology Resources
As an employee of the University, you have access to various
sources and types of information and supporting technologies
in order to complete the responsibilities of your job. Your
use of the information and of the technology that support
electronic information is governed by local, state, and federal
policies. Much of the information the University keeps about
individual students, alumni, and employees is considered confidential
and private and must be handled accordingly.
Standards and policies have been established
to govern the access, release and use of the University's
information resources. To receive access to the University's
electronic information resources, you must receive training
in the standards and policies related to appropriate handling
and use of the data, and you must sign an access and compliance
form indicating your understanding and acceptance of the University's
policies. Staff members who misuse or abuse their access to
information and technology resources are subject to disciplinary
action, including dismissal.
As a steward of information resources, your
fundamental responsibilities include:
- Understanding and abiding by the principles
of data access, privacy and management.
- Handling all university data according to
the University's data management policies, regardless of
whether the data relate to your department or to another
University department.
- Learning, following and upholding the laws
and policies that protect information from unauthorized
access, alteration, disclosure or destruction.
- Storing information you obtain under secure
conditions and making every reasonable effort to maintain
the privacy and confidentiality of the data.
- Disposing of confidential data, when you
are done using them, in an appropriate manner.
- Interpreting and presenting data you access
in a professional, accurate manner.
- Prior to sharing data with others, ensuring
that the recipient is authorized to access/ view such information
and understands his/her responsibility as a user.
- Establishing procedures and practices for
purging and archiving data, taking into account requirements
for maintaining, preserving, securing and accessing historical
data.
- Collecting data with careful consideration
to the amount of information needed to serve a defined,
legitimate and current institutional purpose.
- Using data only for the purpose for which
they were collected.
- Sharing data appropriately but widely with
other members of the University community to avoid unnecessary
duplication.
For additional information, contact the Office
of the Associate Vice President for Administrative Information
Services on the Ann Arbor Campus, the Executive Director of
Information Technology Services on the Dearborn or Flint campuses,
or refer to the M-Pathways website: http://www.mais.umich.edu/.
The Standard Practice Guide provides detailed
information related to information and technology resources
at: http://www.umich.edu/~spgonlin/.
Specific SPG sections are as follows: Section 201.12 Performance
and Conduct Standards; Section 601.5 Microcomputer Acquisition,
Usage and Disposal; Section 601.7 Proper Use of Information
Resources, Information Technology, and Networks at the University
of Michigan; and Section 601.12 The Institutional Data Resource
Management Policy.
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Compliance With Legal
Obligations
The University of Michigan has substantial legal and financial
responsibilities in its capacities as a major employer, facility
manager and recipient of federal, state and private funds.
Stewardship entails heeding policies and procedures designed
to comply with the University's legal requirements. As a steward,
your fundamental responsibilities include:
- Reviewing and observing all University-wide
policies and procedures, as well as those specifically governing
your campus or administrative unit.
- Becoming familiar with and observing all
policies, procedures and legal requirements imposed on the
University as the result of accreditation, or from having
accepted external funds, or that result from being a public
entity.
- Maintaining the confidentiality of University
information as required by University policies and applicable
laws.
- Refraining from all possible infractions
or incidents that may create or have created possible liability
for the University or its representatives and reporting
any such circumstances to an appropriate University official.
- Maintaining accurate and complete documents
as required by the University and regulatory agencies to
comply with fiduciary requirements.
- Advising the chief executive of your campus
or of the central administrative offices of any communication
relating to the University from attorneys who do not represent
the University of Michigan.
For additional information, contact: the Office
of the Vice President and General Counsel on the Ann Arbor
campus: http://www.umich.edu/~vpgc/.
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Protection and Assistance Afforded by the
University
- While every situation must be evaluated on
its own merits, it is the University's policy to defend
and indemnify employees who become parties to legal proceedings
by virtue of their good faith efforts to perform the responsibilities
of their employment.
- Employees who fail to adhere to University
standards and policies compromise the institution and their
colleagues, as well as themselves. You should consult policy
and procedure sources, as well as your administrator or
manager for guidance about properly fulfilling your stewardship
responsibilities.
For additional information, contact: the Office
of the Vice President and General Counsel: http://www.umich.edu/~vpgc/.
Refer also to SPG Section 601.9, the Defense and Indemnification
policy.
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