New whistleblower policy approved by president

At a January meeting of the President’s Cabinet at Western Washington University, a new policy, "Administering the State Employee Whistleblower Act (POL-U1000.15)," was reviewed and then approved by President Bruce Shepard. This policy notifies university employees of their rights under the State Employee Whistleblower Protection Act (Chapter 42.40 RCW). The policy received a comprehensive review by the following stakeholders: Human Resources, Whistleblower Designees, State Auditor’s Office and the Assistant Attorney General’s Office. The policy also was posted for campus comments from Nov. 16 through Dec. 15, 2009.

Also during this time, a procedure was approved that outlines how public officials receive state Whistleblower Reports: PRO-U1000.15A. The campus community is encouraged to review both of these documents at http://www.wwu.edu/policies/newpolicies.shtml.

Any questions on the policy or procedure may be addressed to Kim Herrenkohl, internal audit director, at (360) 650-3435. Further information on reporting improper governmental actions can be found at http://www.wwu.edu/depts/internalaudit/improper.shtml.