The Ethical Panther Hotline at Florida International University is an option for making a confidential report to identify or raise any compliance, suspected misconduct or unethical behavior concerns online (web-based) or via a telephone line. The Hotline platform is not maintained on the University’s systems and is not maintained by University employees. iSight, the commercial service provider for the Ethical Panther Hotline, was chosen for its quality and experience in servicing numerous institutions throughout the United States.

The FIU Ethical Panther Hotline reporting system is available to empower all our University Community members to exercise personal responsibility and accountability for upholding Florida International University’s commitment to compliance, integrity and ethical conduct.  A crucial part of that responsibility is speaking up when you witness or suspect misconduct or unethical behavior and sharing your concerns. As public employees of the State of Florida, we seek to provide assurance to our University community and the State of Florida at large, that our conduct is in accordance with high ethical standards and compliance with applicable laws, regulations and policies. An effective reporting system is a useful tool in identifying misconduct, reducing losses due to fraud and abuse, and reducing the possibility of inappropriate or illegal actions.

The Ethical Panther Hotline is not intended to replace other reporting options but, rather, is an additional reporting option that also allows members of the University community to raise concerns without having to disclose their name or even department, if they choose not to. 

Yes.  When reporting, you may choose to provide your name and contact information, or you may choose to remain anonymous.

While many reporters do choose to remain anonymous, please understand that anonymity may affect FIU’s ability to conduct a thorough inquiry/investigation into your report since we will not be able to follow up with you for additional details or give you updates related to your report. This is especially a concern in instances where you are reporting that you personally experienced some type of inappropriate conduct or harassment.  So, please consider providing your name for follow up in these instances. 

Some FIU Community members are more comfortable remaining anonymous for a variety of reasons – and it is their right to do so!  Please remember that if you do choose to report anonymously it is important that you provide as much detail as possible in your Hotline report.  Also, should you wish to preserve anonymity, make certain that the description of the issue or incident you are providing does not reveal your identity by accident. 

You should report any situation in your workplace or University environment which you believe may be contrary to law, regulation, government contract, grant requirement, or University policies and regulations.

If you suspect something may be wrong, the best course of action is to report it. You may have initial knowledge of an activity that may be cause for concern but not know the exact law or requirement or be certain a violation has occurred or will occur. Even in these instances, your reporting can minimize the potential negative impact to the University and its employees.

Remember, in all instances when submitting a report, please make certain that you include as much detail as possible in order to allow the University the opportunity to perform a thorough review/investigation of the report.

No.  Please remember that the Hotline service is not to be used in case of emergencies or as a substitute for contacting law enforcement. The information you submit may not be reviewed immediately. If you are facing an emergency, a crime or threat to property is in progress, or you believe someone is facing a threat of imminent danger or bodily harm, please contact the police or emergency responders immediately. 

If an emergency situation occurs, dial 911. If you are on the Modesto Maidique Campus or Biscayne Bay Campus, you may also dial the University Policy Department at 305-348-5911 (MMC) or 305-919-5911 (BBC) in the event of an emergency.

All instances of known or suspected child abuse, abandonment, or neglect must be reported once you know or have reasonable cause to suspect that a child has been abused, abandoned or neglected, immediately and without delay, to The Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) by telephone to the Florida Abuse Hotline: 1-800-96ABUSE or 1-800-962-2873 or TDD (Telephone Device for the Deaf): 1- 800-453-5145 (the toll-free numbers are available 24/7; DCF abuse hotline counselors will assist you).  Although you may additionally report through the Ethical Panther Hotline, it does not relieve you of the duty to report directly to DCF.

IF A CHILD IS IN IMMINENT DANGER, please call 911 or the University Police Department. If you are on the Modesto Maidique Campus or Biscayne Bay Campus, you may also dial the University Policy Department at 305-348-5911 (MMC) or 305-919-5911 (BBC) in the event of an emergency.

Additionally, you may refer to the 140.130 Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse, Abandonment and Neglect Policy and Procedure for more information.

Reports submitted via the Ethical Panther Hotline are handled as promptly and discreetly as possible. Your concerns are first referred to the Ethical Panther Hotline Reports Review Committee (“Committee”) consisting of the University Compliance and Privacy Officer, the Vice President for Human Resources and the Chief Audit Executive.  The Committee reviews all reports to determine the University’s immediate and initial response, and also to determine what other University personnel, if any, must be involved in the investigation and ultimate resolution of this matter.  Relevant information will only be shared with other University personnel if it is necessary or appropriate to investigate or resolve a matter. 

The independent third-party hotline provider, iSight, and the University are each committed to safeguarding the confidentiality of individuals who submit reports whenever possible.  Further, no one submitting a report will be subjected to retaliatory action for inquiring about possible criminal, unethical, or otherwise inappropriate activity or behavior, or reporting them in good faith.  

Keep an eye next month out for a University-wide communication with details on how to access the new platform! The Ethical Panther Hotline will be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. By giving you multiple options, the Ethical Panther Hotline helps ensure that faculty, staff, students and the University community can file a report anonymously and in the manner most comfortable or convenient to them.

If you decide to use the telephone option for reporting, you will be greeted by an independent third-party call center staff person. You will be asked to provide the same information that you would provide if you were using the online report form. The interviewer will enter your responses into the system and use that to generate an electronic report. These electronic reports have the same security and confidentiality protections as a report that you would enter directly online.

If you have anonymously submitted an online reporting form and then remember or have access to additional relevant information at a later date, you may submit another report (referencing details from the initial report you submitted).   If you have provided your name or otherwise feel comfortable doing so, you also have the option to contact the University Compliance and Privacy Officer directly regarding your report by calling (305) 348-2216 or sending an e-mail to compliance @fiu.edu.

While reports can be made anonymously through the Ethical Panther Hotline, we encourage reporters to feel comfortable enough with providing their information so that we can follow up with them directly if additional information is needed to thoroughly review/investigate the report filed.

You are expected to act in “good faith” when making a report. This means that you are expected to provide information you know or suspect is true.  Providing a report based on information you know is false can be hurtful to individuals who have not done anything wrong.  Therefore, purposefully filing a false or malicious report can constitute grounds for disciplinary action.

You can!  And this is also encouraged.  In fact, although you always have the option of submitting reports using the Ethical Panther Hotline, we suggest that you first consider reporting through your supervisor or other departmental channels (including Human Resources) if appropriate and if you are comfortable doing so.  However, there are several good reasons why you may consider using the Ethical Panther Hotline.  First, the Ethical Panther Hotline ensures that your report gets to the appropriate people for review and investigation.  Also, reports can be filed anonymously, and all reported information is held in the strictest confidence consistent with a thorough review and investigation.

There are several – and you may choose the reporting option you are most comfortable with and that makes the most sense for your situation.

Faculty and staff should know that direct discussion with one’s supervisor is often the most effective way to raise a concern. You may also directly contact the Division of Human Resources, the Office of Internal Audit, the Office of the General Counsel, or the Office of University Compliance & Integrity with any questions or concerns.

Students always have the option of raising concerns involving FIU faculty members directly with your professor. If your professor refuses or is the subject of the concern, you also have the option of escalating your concern to the Department Chair and then to the Dean of your College if you are comfortable doing so. In addition, you may also want to consider speaking with the acting Student Ombudsperson:

Sofia Trelles,

StudentOmbudsperson

Graham Center 219

Email: Ombuds@fiu.edu

Phone: 305-348-2797

The Ombudsperson provides a forum for students to discuss and identify options to resolve student issues. The Ombudsperson helps students who have encountered problems or conflicts within the University, particularly problems not being adequately addressed through normal channels, or which processes and procedures seem incapable of, or are causing an inordinate delay in resolving. The Ombudsperson may resolve problems through various methods, including making inquiries or referrals to the appropriate University department for review.

The College of Medicine has its own Ombudsperson serving medical students only:

Heidi von Harscher, PhD

Medical Student Ombudsperson

Director of Medical Support Services

305-348-1461

vonharsc@fiu.edu

Many areas of the University have also identified a specific person to handle questions or reports about something you think may be wrong.  You may also be able to raise your concerns with specific University offices established to handle certain types of issues.

When reporting, you may choose to provide your name and contact information, or you may choose to remain anonymous. If you choose to remain anonymous, you should ensure that the description of the issue or incident you are providing does not reveal your identity by accident.  If you are the only individual who could possibly know the reported facts, there may be an unintended disclosure of your identity. 

If you provide your name so we are able to follow up with you to fully review/investigate your report, the University will honor and protect your request for confidentiality to every extent possible as it fulfills its obligations in responding to the report.

Florida International University is subject to the State of Florida public records law.  While we can protect any documents or identifying information you have provided while the investigation is ongoing, once the investigation closes, we may need to turn over certain documents or identifying information in response to a public records request.  Florida International University will protect the confidentiality of the information we receive from you to the fullest extent permissible under applicable law.

If you are NOT reporting anonymously and are seeking whistle-blower status under the “Florida Whistle-blower’s Act”, you may file your complaint directly with the FIU Office of Internal Audit:

FIU Office of Internal Audit

11200 SW 8 ST, CSC 447

Miami, FL 33199

Email: Auditors@FIU.edu

Telephone: 305-348-2107

Fax: 305-348-6421

If whistle-blower status is granted based on the nature of your complaint, your name and identity are exempted from public record. This status will only be granted if your complaint reaches the threshold required to meet criteria for whistle-blower status as defined by Florida Statute.   Please note that the statute sets a high qualification standard based on the impact of your allegations and not everyone who requests this status will receive it. 

Regardless of Whistleblower status, no one submitting a report will be subjected to retaliatory action for inquiring about possible criminal, unethical, or otherwise inappropriate activity or behavior, or reporting them in good faith. 

FIU does not tolerate retaliation!  No one submitting a report will be subjected to retaliatory action for inquiring about possible criminal, unethical, or otherwise inappropriate activity or behavior, or reporting them in good faith.  If you file a report and feel like you are experiencing retaliation as a result, contact the Office of University Compliance & Integrity immediately.

The length of a review/investigation depends upon many factors, such as the complexity of the issue, the number of people involved, the nature and extent of documents or other evidence involved, and the urgency of the matter. The University reviews all Ethical Panther Hotline reports with the utmost importance and will perform as thorough a review as possible for all reports submitted.

Please contact the Office of University Compliance & Integrity at 305-348-2216 or via email at compliance@fiu.edu if you have questions about the Ethical Panther Hotline reporting system.