Intent
ADLER Graduate Professional School (“ADLER” or the “School”) has adopted this policy to avoid any real or perceived conflict of interest that may arise from the acceptance of gifts offered by (prospective) clients and students.
Definitions
Gift: Any item, product, or service offered by any current student or vendor, which may include (but is not limited to) money, gift cards, services, discounts, tickets to events, favours, or other physical items that carry a monetary value greater than $10.
Guidelines
Faculty and staff are prohibited from accepting gifts, money, discounts, meals, tickets to events, or favours, including a benefit to family members, friends, or business associates, in return for completing any work that ADLER pays them to do, with the exception of promotional gifts or gifts with a monetary value of less than $10.- (for example, promotional coffee mug or other company-branded item or the occasional working lunch).
ADLER faculty and staff should report any potential conflict of interest, customer attempt to create bias or offer of a gift with a monetary value greater than $10.- that occurs in the performance of their regular job duties or while off-duty but acting as a representative of the school. Faculty and staff must document and report the occurrence to the Dean of their department or their supervisor. Faculty and staff must also report any and all situations that involve requested attendance at events or receipt of gifts or meals from any student or potential student or vendor or their agents or representatives. The reporting and documentation must include the purpose of the meeting, meal, gift, event, etc., and those in attendance.
Gifts
If any ADLER faculty or staff receive a gift that carries a monetary value greater than $10.-, they are directed to return it to the sender with a written acknowledgment of the gift and politely decline the acceptance of the gift by making reference to the ADLER conflict of interest policy.
Faculty and staff must make all reasonable efforts and attempts to return the gift. If a return of the gift is not possible, any unreturned gifts must be reported to the Dean of their department or their supervisor.
Where faculty or staff cannot return the gift, the gift must be forwarded to HR for documentation and donation for charitable purposes. Unreturned gifts will be donated to a charitable foundation approved by the Board. A letter must be generated and forwarded to the individual or business that provided the gift to inform them of the ADLER acceptance of gifts policy and provide details of the decision to donate the gift to charity.
A copy of this letter should be kept on file.
Meals
Faculty and staff are encouraged to conduct ADLER business during regular office hours, either at School premises or in meetings at a predetermined client or vendor facility. ADLER recognizes that circumstances may arise where ADLER faculty and staff must conduct business over a meal when this form of meeting is specifically requested. In these circumstances, faculty and staff must report these meetings to the Dean of their Department or their supervisor and receive authorization ahead of time.
ADLER faculty and staff should pay for their own meal and submit a business expense form upon return from the meal. Faculty and staff should not accept complimentary meals from any student, as this may create a real or perceived conflict of interest. Faculty and staff may accept a meal from an individual or organization that has a business interest with ADLER, but the value of the meal must be less than ($40.-) and must be reported within one week to the Dean of their Department or their supervisor.
Attendance at Events
Faculty and staff are prohibited from accepting tickets to or attending cultural, social, charitable, political, recreational, or sporting events at the expense of any student or vendor with a current business interest in ADLER without prior authorization from the Dean of their department or their supervisor.
If a student or vendor asks any faculty or staff to attend an event, and this event presents a potential benefit to ADLER business interests, the faculty or staff must direct a written request to attend the event to the Dean or their department or their supervisor with a detailed rationale for attendance. If the request is approved, ADLER shall pay the cost of the ticket or entry fee for the event.
If faculty or staff of ADLER are offered tickets to an event where it is clear that the party offering the tickets will not be in attendance, or where there is no expectation that ADLER business will be conducted at the event, the offer must be politely declined with reference to this policy.