Unannounced Visits by Regulators: FAQ

If a student, faculty, or staff member is contacted by an outside  agency, we recommend the following:

1. Ask the agency representative for official identification with his or her name and agency affiliation. If the investigator presents only a business card, contact their office to verify identity.
2. State that you are willing to cooperate, but as a UC employee you want a university representative present.
3. If the agency representative presents a subpoena, court order, national security letter or other legal document, ask for a copy and time to contact the Office of Research Compliance and Integrity and Campus Counsel to review the legal documentation in advance of the agency carrying out its search or investigation. If unable to contact anyone or the agency presents a search warrant and does not provide a copy or the time to contact anyone, review the documentation presented carefully and understand the authorized scope of the inquiry before any interview or search begins.
4. Contact the Office of Research Compliance and Integrity and Campus Counsel if the investigator wants to proceed immediately (pursuant to a search warrant) so that a university representative can be present as soon as possible for any interview or search.
5. If possible, schedule a later date for any requested interview so that a university representative can be present.
6. Decline to provide the names and nationalities of any students, faculty or staff members, but inform the investigator that he or she can contact the Office of Research Compliance and Integrity and Campus Counsel regarding requests for information. You may state you are not authorized to release information under state and federal law and university policy.

Nothing can stop an outside agency from attempting to interview members of the university community, and we cannot prohibit anyone from engaging in interviews if they choose to participate.

Unless the agency presents a subpoena, court order, national security letter or other legal document compelling participation, students, faculty and staff members can decline to participate in immediate interviews and ask that the agency contact the Office of Research Compliance and Integrity to schedule a site visit when a university representative can be present.  In some cases, law enforcement may be requesting information to support an investigation on an external person or entity and may be gathering information.

In the unlikely event that an agency presents a search warrant compelling immediate action (as opposed to a subpoena or other document that provides a date by which the university must comply), carefully review the document to verify it is a search warrant.

Although the investigating agency is unlikely to defer its search, immediately contact the Office of Research Compliance and Integrity and Campus Counsel so a university representative can be present as soon as possible.

The university does not provide the names and nationalities of students, faculty, or staff members absent a subpoena, court order, national security letter, or other legal document.

To do so could violate both state law and UC policy. All questions regarding students, faculty, or staff members should be referred to the Office of Research Compliance and Integrity or Campus Counsel. These offices can provide the outside agency with a clear explanation of our policies.

The university’s strong preference is to have a university representative from either the Office of Research Compliance and Integrity or Campus Counsel attend any interviews of employees.

We ask for interviews to be scheduled in advance to accommodate this. In instances where a student is not an employee, we cannot require they have a representative present. However, any student can request a university representative be present while they are interviewed.

All students, faculty, and staff can decline to be interviewed, absent a subpoena, court order, national security letter or other document compelling participation.

In the unlikely event someone is contacted outside of the university setting (for example at their home), that person may ask the agency to contact them in the workplace to take advantage of having a university representative present in any interview.

If the agency presents a search warrant, you may be compelled to cooperate, but contact the Office of Research Compliance and Integrity or Campus Counsel as soon as possible.