Ethics

As a general rule, all state employees should be careful about receiving gifts from vendors, or others who might benefit from an employee’s decision. For more detail concerning this, please contact the Office of General Counsel, or consult Board of Regents Policy Manual, Section 802.14.

The University of North Georgia (UNG) is a publicly funded institution, and the public – that is, the taxpayers of the State of Georgia – is very interested in how we use public resources. The University is public in other ways, too. The press and members of the public enjoy access to many types of University records and documents through the Georgia Open Records Act. Those who are employed at public institutions such as UNG are charged with the duty to behave ethically in their professional lives, but that isn't all. We are also charged with the duty to avoid even the appearance of impropriety, so that the public will not lose confidence in our stewardship of its resources.

Georgia’s General Assembly has embodied these principles in the Code of Ethics for Government Services, codified at Section 45-10-1 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated.

If another University wants to pay me to perform work for them similar to the work I do here at UNG can I do so?

It depends. All outside activities for pay require approval from your supervisor, and your supervisor will consider things like whether this proposed job is a conflict of interest with your UNG work or whether it will detract from your obligations to UNG. There is also a state law that prohibits you from doing work for another Board Regents' institution or State of Georgia agency unless certain steps are taken in advance.