EthicsPoint is an independent company that provides secure, confidential telephone and web-based systems for use by those who wish to report a concern regarding business conduct. PEC is one of many companies that contracts with EthicsPoint for this service in the belief that potential reporters will be more comfortable reporting a concern if they know they will be reporting to a professional, third-party. In addition to providing service 24 hours a day, EthicsPoint offers translation services that allow telephone and web reports to be made in dozens of languages.
EthicsPoint's principal responsibilities are:
It is not EthicsPoint's role to take action to address the concern, only to transmit the concern to the Perdoceo Education Corporation’s Compliance Investigation Unit.
Concerns about an immediate threat of physical harm or damage to property should not be reported to EthicsPoint. If you require emergency assistance, please contact your local emergency services.
First, consider whether you are comfortable raising your concern directly to your manager, your manager’s supervisor, or to someone else in your department. Individuals within the company have indicated that, while sometimes challenging, directly addressing issues and or concerns with those involved can be very effective. If you are uncomfortable reporting your concern, if you do not know whom to contact, if you believe your concern has not been satisfactorily addressed, or if you wish to remain anonymous, please proceed with the filing of a report through EthicsPoint.
If you wish to report a conduct concern, you may complete a report on this website, or you may speak with a specialist in EthicsPoint's call center, which answers calls to the PEC’s EthicsMatters phone number. Regardless of which option you select, you will have the option to remain anonymous.
To contact the EthicsMatters Hotline by phone, simple place a call to 1-888-310-9568. A live EthicsPoint Contact Center Specialist is available 24 hours a day/7 days a week/365 days a year.
Many investigations can be more quickly and effectively completed when the reporter identifies him/herself because it allows PEC's investigator to follow up directly with the reporter. If you choose to identify yourself in reporting your concern, PEC will make every reasonable effort to hold your name in confidence during the investigation.
In all countries except those which prohibit anonymous reporting, you may report your concern anonymously by using the EthicsMatters Website or the Hotline, which is operated by EthicsPoint. If you choose to make your report anonymously, you will be provided with a report key and asked to create a password. You will need to retain these to return to the report you previously submitted. When you check back, you can monitor the progress on your concern and add additional information, if necessary. This will also allow PEC to ask follow-up questions, while protecting your anonymity.
EthicsPoint does not trace phone calls or use Caller Identification. In addition, EthicsPoint does not generate or maintain internal connection logs containing Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, so no information linking your computer to EthicsPoint would be available if you choose to make a report online. Reports from your computer would come through a secure Internet portal which does not trace or show user screen names.
At the end of your telephone call or web-based report, EthicsPoint will provide you with a report key and ask you to create a password. You will be asked to telephone PEC’s EthicsMatters Hotline, operated by EthicsPoint, or visit the EthicsMatters website periodically after you make your initial report. At that time, you can monitor progress on your report and learn whether any additional information is needed from you to address your concern.
Because of the high level of confidentiality that is maintained for reports, if you lose your report key or password, you will be required to file a new report. You can mention in the new report that this matter relates to another report you supplied earlier.
EthicsPoint notifies PEC’s Compliance Investigation Unit and Employee Relations office when a report is received. PEC then commences an appropriate review and investigation, using internal or external resources with expertise in conducting investigations. The information in your report is shared with appropriate investigation team members, and the concern is investigated promptly and discreetly. You are able to monitor status of the investigation by contacting the PEC EthicsMatters Hotline, or by clicking the Follow Up link on the EthicsMatters website.
Reports are entered directly on the EthicsPoint secure server to prevent any possible breach in security. EthicsPoint makes these reports available only to specific individuals within PEC’s investigations team who are charged with ensuring that an appropriate investigation is conducted. Individuals receiving these report recipients have had training in handling these reports in the utmost confidence.
Perdoceo Education Corporation strictly forbids any retaliation against any person who reports a concern. Complaints made in good faith will not expose you to any sanctions, regardless of whether the underlying facts prove to be correct or result in any corrective action. If you believe you have faced retaliation of any kind, please report it so that PEC can investigate.
They absolutely do. In fact, they need you to report. Your willingness to report a problem or concern translates into an opportunity for the company to be better. Reporting a concern can minimize the potential negative impact on the company and our students, and, most importantly, help to alleviate a difficulty you might be facing. Also, offering input may help identify issues that can improve the company’s culture and overall performance. If you observe or suspect a violation of company policy or of the law, as an employee, you have the obligation to speak up. Please do not assume that someone else is going to raise the concern. Unless you speak up, the company may not have the chance to investigate and address the situation.