The University of Arkansas board of trustees on Friday adopted a freedom of information policy for the entire system.

“The purpose of the policy is to provide guidelines for the handling of and responses to requests for public records under the FOIA by the system, campuses, divisions and units,” the document states.

The UA System’s freedom of information policy, No. 270.1, calls for compliance with “the letter and the spirit” of the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act, which is Arkansas Code Annotated 25-19-101 et. seq.

The new policy comes four months after a heated legislative hearing in which a former spokesman for the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville accused the chancellor of violating the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.

At a Sept. 13 meeting of the Joint Legislative Auditing Committee, former UA spokesman John Diamond said Chancellor G. David Gearhart ordered public documents to be destroyed during a Jan. 14, 2013, meeting to keep them from public view. Gearhart said he has never ordered documents to be destroyed that were subject to a request under the Freedom of Information Act.

Pulaski County Prosecuting Attorney Larry Jegley is reviewing Diamond’s and Gearhart’s testimony to determine whether it warrants a perjury investigation. Both men were under oath when they gave what appeared to be conflicting testimony at the meeting.

At that Sept. 13 hearing, legislators were attempting to learn more about a $4.2 million cumulative deficit in the Advancement Division at the end of fiscal 2012, which was June 30, 2012.

Auditors have said the division’s former vice chancellor for advancement, Brad Choate, wasn’t monitoring the budget at the same time he added about two dozen employees to the division’s staff. Further, they found that the division’s budget officer, Joy Sharp, also failed to monitor the budget and flag the overspending.

Choate and Sharp both worked at the university for a year after the deficit was discovered in July 2012 but ultimately lost their jobs June 30.

UA System Trustee Ben Hyneman of Jonesboro said during a meeting Thursday that the new freedom of information policy and three other new policies came about because of a systemic need, not because of any one campus. The other three policies involve financial accounting and reporting, budgeting and ethics.

During a meeting of the board’s audit committee, Hyneman mentioned troubling audit findings at several campuses, including the Advancement Division on the Fayetteville campus and at the University of Arkansas at Monticello.

The board decided to draft the new policies because other schools across the country have similar rules, Hyneman said. The board first discussed the issue at its November meeting.

“We found in looking back that we didn’t have a lot of written policies as guidelines … that we can look at and use,” he told the audit committee Thursday. “Other institutions across the country did have more formal policies that addressed some of the issues. … We have these things pop up from time to time. We wanted the board to be presented with these to consider.”

Board of trustees Chairman Jane Rogers of Little Rock made similar statements after Friday’s meeting.

“Really, they apply to all our campuses,” she said. “It had a lot to do with things going on all across our campuses. It truly did. It wasn’t geared toward one campus at all. It’s a best practice, and it was time for us to put it on the list.”

The audit committee passed the policies Thursday and sent them on to the full board Friday.

Under the Freedom of Information Act policy, presidents, chancellors and heads of divisions and other units must designate an official to coordinate requests to inspect and copy public records.

“Any university employee who receives a request for public records under the FOIA shall immediately furnish such request … to the coordinator of the specific campus, division or unit,” the policy states.

Diamond said the new policy “formally establishes the very practice the university attorneys and I had in place.”

Diamond was fired from the UA in August after what he said was a disagreement with Gearhart over responding to Freedom of Information Act requests. UA officials said Diamond was fired for insubordination.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette sued the university last year to get records regarding the Advancement Division’s deficit, which UA officials claimed were personnel records. The university eventually released the records, saying Choate and Sharp had given permission for their release.

“There is nothing in this new policy to ensure that Fayetteville complies with the letter and spirit of the policy and the FOIA law,” Diamond said. Ultimately, Gearhart will still be in control of Freedom of Information responses regarding the Fayetteville campus, Diamond said.

Mark Rushing, who handles public records requests for the Fayetteville campus, said the new policy could eventually mean that some units on campus respond on their own to Freedom of Information requests instead of routing them through him.

“We look forward to implementing the new guidelines as outlined in the resolution,” he said. “This will provide a standard for all campuses in the UA System.”

Another policy, the UA System’s new Code of Ethical Conduct, No. 335.1, will help prevent and detect wrongdoing, according to the policy. It also sets standards for ethical behavior and provides mechanisms for reporting violations.

The ethics code states that employees should exhibit “conduct that is beyond reproach and integrity of the highest caliber; honesty and fairness; and accountability, transparency and commitment to compliance [with the law].”

“Given the variety and complexity of ethical questions that may arise in the course of carrying out the university’s business, this code can serve only as a general guide,” the policy states.

In ethically ambiguous situations, employees are urged to conduct themselves in the manner of the “highest caliber” spelled out in the code.

Choate violated existing UA policy when he gave his computer system password to Sharp so that she could approve expenditures, according to investigations into the deficit.

The budgeting policy, 370.1, requires campuses or units to submit budgets annually to the president and board of trustees. In addition, quarterly reports are required comparing actual to budgeted numbers throughout the fiscal year. Variances must be explained.

Internal controls and procedures will be put in place by the chief financial officer of each campus or unit.

Auditors found a dearth of budget documents in the aftermath of the Advancement deficit. They cited a lack of records as a hindrance to the audit.

The Financial Accounting and Reporting policy, No. 365.1, will identify such reporting prescribed by state law. It will also describe the required standards, the type and frequency of mandatory financial reports and responsibilities for administration of the system.

The policy basically establishes financial accounting and reporting standards and responsibilities for the UA System.

UA trustees give Gearhart a vote of confidence

Front Section, Pages 1 on 01/25/2014