UA News

Goodcat Hotline to support ethics initiatives within the college.

The Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona announced the launch of the Goodcat Hotline, which is designed to empower students to report their observations of academic dishonesty in the classroom.

The hotline was developed by EthicsPoint, a leading provider of hotline and anti-fraud reporting and case management services, to deter students from cheating.  

"EthicsPoint represents more than 300 colleges and universities around the country," said EthicsPoint CEO and president David Childers. "The Goodcat Hotline is a unique product, and we are very pleased to be the third-party anonymous reporting solution."

"Eller has a toehold on innovation and ethics among business schools," said Paul Melendez, EthicsPoint Distinguished Lecturer in Business Ethics and director of the College's ethics program. "The Goodcat Hotline is yet another example of how the College is leading the way in abating academic dishonesty."

"To expose our students to the notion of a whistleblower hotline, and to give them the opportunity early in their career to ‘step up' if they see offensive behavior, is a benefit I do not believe any other business school has in place," said Suzanne Cummins, senior lecturer in the Department of Management and Organizations.

Added Childers, "This hotline extends the open-door policy the University has used for years to identify academic fraud and provides a new level of support for individuals who may observe misconduct, but due to peer pressure or fear of reprisal, choose not to report it."

The Eller College of Management prides itself on its commitment to integrity. Its Eller Board of Honor and Integrity hosts an annual international ethics case competition in the fall and a high school ethics forum in the spring for Phoenix and Tucson teens.

"Our namesake, Karl Eller, titled his book ‘Integrity is All You've Got.' The words are painted on our walls," said Cummins. "We have built our academic program to incorporate applied ethical analysis both in the lower division and upper division of our curriculum."

The Goodcat Hotline will further promote ethical decision making among students. The system will allow the College to collect data of reported cheating incidents and classroom misconduct. Historical data going back to 2003 will also be entered into the EthicsPoint system, facilitating quantitative and trend analysis.

The Eller College of Management is internationally recognized for pioneering research, innovative curriculum, distinguished faculty, excellence in entrepreneurship and social responsibility.

The college leads the nation's business schools in generating grant funds for research. . In addition to a full-time MBA program, the Eller College offers an evening MBA program, an accelerated MBA program  and the Eller Executive MBA.