Misconduct Reporting Hotline FAQs

The Misconduct Reporting Hotline is a mechanism through which the DePaul University community can communicate their concerns about misconduct or suspected violations of any laws or university policies. Examples of misconduct include but are not limited to: fraud or conduct that risks or misuses university finances, conflict of interest, release of proprietary information, violations of the Code of Conduct, failure to abide by university business practices, falsification of records, theft and workplace violence. The Misconduct Reporting Hotline is not intended to be a reporting mechanism for employee grievances.

DePaul University's Reporting Misconduct and Non-Retaliation policies state, "Employees with supervisory or fiscal responsibility have a responsibility to report conduct related to university activities and business that violates civil laws, university policies or DePaul's Code of Conduct. Community members who are not in a supervisory role or do not have fiscal duties are strongly encouraged to also report such conduct."

The Non-Retaliation Policy explains that, "No person, including parties and witnesses, who, in good faith, reports or participates in a misconduct investigation at DePaul shall be subject to retaliation or threat of retaliation. Retaliation shall include, but is not limited to, actions taken without legitimate, non-retaliatory business purpose and have a materially adverse effect on a person's employment, advancement, scholarship, performance, habitation, safety or property. By definition, any act of retaliation constitutes reportable misconduct. The finding of retaliation, or threat of retaliation, shall constitute a violation of this policy. Any such acts of retaliation in violation of this policy will be subject to appropriate disciplinary action, which may include termination of employment."

If an individual makes an intentionally false or purposefully misleading allegation of misconduct or retaliation, that individual will be subject to appropriate disciplinary action, which may include termination of employment. This is addressed in both the Reporting Misconduct and Non-Retaliation policies.

DePaul University wants to provide its constituents another method of reporting suspected misconduct or violations of any laws or university policies. The Misconduct Reporting Hotline does NOT replace your supervisor, chain-of-command or other areas of the university such as the Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity, Internal Audit, Human Resources, the Office of the General Counsel and/or the Office of the University Ombudsperson. It creates an option to report suspected misconduct or violations of any laws or university policies when you do not know where to report them or when you wish to report anonymously.

If you believe that misconduct or violation of any laws or university policies is occurring or has occurred, you can use the Misconduct Reporting Hotline. To the extent possible, you should utilize your supervisory structures before the Misconduct Reporting Hotline. If you believe that your supervisor is involved in the activity or if you wish to report anonymously, you can use the Misconduct Reporting Hotline.

The Misconduct Reporting Hotline is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

No, you can remain anonymous. It may be more difficult to investigate your concern without your participation or availability for follow-up questions.

You will have the option to provide your name and contact information. If you opt to provide your name and contact information, this will be included in the report to DePaul University. The university is committed to balancing the interests of all parties involved in the investigation of complaints and will attempt to keep the name of the complainant confidential and to respect the rights of the individual against whom the complaint was made, to the extent that it is possible. Further, when credible information received through an investigation shows that there may be violations of other university policies, the appropriate officials will be notified.

DePaul University has contracted with a third party vendor to take the Misconduct Reporting Hotline calls. This is an independent company and has no connection to DePaul University.

No, the vendor neither identifies nor tracks callers by their telephone number, nor do they record the calls.

You have the ability to file a confidential, anonymous report by telephone at (877) 236-8390 or online at depaul.ethicspoint.com.

DePaul has a triage team that reviews and investigates all reports. Depending upon the nature of the report and the team's decision, the investigation may be handled by the Office of the General Counsel, Human Resources, the Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity, Internal Audit, Compliance and Risk Management, or other appropriate office. If the report is substantiated, the investigating office, in consultation with appropriate university officials, will determine the appropriate course of action to resolve the issue.

When you file a report using the hotline, you receive a unique username and are asked to choose a password. You can return to the system again either by internet or telephone and access the original report to add more detail or answer questions posed by a university representative. We strongly suggest that you return to the site in the time specified to answer the university's questions.

Reports are entered directly on a secure server to prevent any possible breach in security. EthicsPoint makes these reports available only to specific individuals within DePaul who are charged with evaluating the report, based on the type of violation. Each of these report recipients has had training in keeping these reports in the utmost confidence.