FIU introduces fraud hotline


The university’s Ethics and Compliance Hotline allows any member of the university community to anonymously report activities that may involve fraud, abuse or other violations of law or university policy.

By Karen Cochrane

The university has selected EthicsPoint, an independent vendor, to provide faculty, staff and students with a simple, anonymous way to report activities that may involve improper conduct or violations of FIU policies.

“We have a responsibility to our students and to all Floridians to make the best possible use of our resources,” says Ken Jessell, chief financial officer and senior vice president of finance and administration. “If we have unethical things going on at the university that result in the inappropriate use of resources, we want to know about it.”

Faculty, staff and students can file a report with the university’s Ethics and Compliance Hotline for an issue in any of the following areas: accounting/financial, athletics, human resources, information technology, medical, research, risk and safety matters, and academic affairs.

Reports can be submitted in two ways: Faculty and staff can file an anonymous report online with EthicsPoint here or here or call EthicsPoint toll-free at 1-888-286-5154. EthicsPoint can also be accessed through the university’s home page (under the “Quick links/Tools” gold bar at the top of the page) or the University Compliance Office Web site.

With EthicsPoint, individuals can file a complaint 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The Internet portal never identifies a visitor to the Web site by screen name, and the system deletes Internet addresses so that anonymity is preserved. Callers are not recorded or traced—the caller discusses the matter with an EthicsPoint representative who summarizes the information in a written report.

“One of the elements of an effective compliance program is to have in place and to publicize a system whereby individuals can report or seek guidance regarding potential or actual misconduct without any fear of retaliation,” says Leyda Benitez, university compliance officer and interim privacy officer. “EthicsPoint is the means to that end, as the individual who makes a report is provided with a unique key number and password that allows the individual to check into the status of his or her report and communicate with university officials while being able to remain anonymous.”

The ability to engage in an ongoing dialogue with the individual making the report while protecting the anonymity of that person is particularly important to university leaders who receive anonymous tips but have no ability to follow up. Having the ability to ask follow-up questions will enable the university to launch comprehensive investigations and fully address the issue at hand.

“Sometimes the information in the reports is so broad that we can’t move forward unless we have more information to help us narrow down a time period or other relevant details,” says Benitez. “With EthicsPoint, we can ask those follow-up questions of the person filing the report, and he or she can remain anonymous throughout the entire process. It’s a win-win for everyone.”

All reports that are filed are sent initially to a three-person committee comprised of Benitez, Vice President for Human Resources Jaffus Hardrick and Internal Audit Director Allen Vann. The committee determines next steps – whether there is enough information and/or cause to initiate an investigation, what type of additional information may be needed, and whether there are other university officials who need to be brought into the loop to follow up on the matter.

Says Hardrick, “EthicsPoint will assist the university in maintaining a culture of integrity and high ethical standards while allowing us to be responsive to our employees’ concerns.”

University leaders say that the new reporting system augments policies and procedures currently in place for reporting suspected fraud and abuse.

“EthicsPoint isn’t meant to replace existing reporting methods on campus,” says Jessell. “It’s meant to provide an alternative for individuals who do not feel comfortable with existing reporting methods.”

The program is operated by an independent company, EthicsPoint, Inc., which was founded in 1999 by a group of certified fraud examiners. Today the company provides online reporting systems to more than 2,000 clients, including more than 200 universities and educational entities.

Says Vann, “We know and appreciate that most employees are honest and want to do the right thing. The fact is that only a fraction of fraud and abuse is uncovered directly by management and auditors. It turns out that a hotline is one of the most effective means that an organization has to thwart inappropriate behavior. I would urge everyone to consider the reputation of the university and the cost associated with ignoring this type of activity and get behind this program 100 percent.”

Useful links:

For a general overview of FIU’s Ethics and Compliance Hotline, click here.

To learn in greater detail how the hotline works, click here.

To make an anonymous, online report, click here.