Biola University is committed to operating in an ethical, honest, and lawful manner and expects its employees to perform their duties in accordance with applicable laws, regulations, and internal policies and procedures. The University strives to support its community in practicing the highest levels of ethical conduct.
Employees should report suspected or actual unethical, fraudulent or illegal conduct that violates state or federal laws or regulations, or internal policies or procedures. For such conduct, you may submit a report to your immediate manager or supervisor. However, if you are not comfortable speaking with your manager or supervisor, are not satisfied with your manager or supervisor's response, or if the concern relates to a particularly serious or sensitive issue, you may file a report using the University’s hotline service with EthicsPoint (a third-party hotline provider). Reports using the hotline service may be submitted anonymously.
An individual submitting a report is not required to provide his or her name, and the University will treat the investigation of any report as a confidential matter. Reports submitted to EthicsPoint will be forwarded to the proper University official for review.
After you submit your report, you will be assigned a unique code called a “report key.” Please write down your report key and password and keep them in a safe place. After 5-6 business days, please use your report key and password to provide additional information about the matter or to check your report for feedback or questions. The University may ask for additional information from you prior to proceeding with an investigation. Your anonymity will be protected by EthicsPoint.
Please see the Biola University Whistleblower Policy and the EthicsPoint FAQs for more information.
The University recognizes that individuals may not express their concerns for fear of retaliation. As such, any form of retaliation (e.g., discharge, demotion, suspension, harassment, intimidation) is prohibited against an individual who makes a good-faith report of misconduct or cooperates with an investigation regarding a report of misconduct. An employee who retaliates against another employee as a result of his/her protected actions may be subject to corrective action, up to and including termination.
An individual who files a false report or malicious allegation will not be protected and may be subject to corrective action, up to and including termination. The intentional reporting of false or misleading information can result in civil or criminal liability.
Accounting and Financial
Accounting or internal control issues, fraud, theft, falsification of records, improper giving/receiving of gifts, improper supplier or contractor activity, waste of resources, or other financial issues
Human Resources
Benefits abuses, conflicts of interest, or other similar issues
Information Technology
Data privacy, inappropriate use, software piracy, misuse of resources, or other similar issues
Risk and Safety Matters
Unsafe working conditions, environmental issues, sabotage, vandalism, or other safety matters
Athletics
Misuse of assets, players, or endorsements; recruiting misconduct; scholarship or financial aid misconduct; or other similar matters
Other
Events, actions, or situations not described above, excluding categories listed below
1. Matters covered by existing reporting policies/procedures: The University considers employee matters to be very important and desires your cooperation in resolving such matters. However, the hotline is not intended to replace or supersede existing reporting policies and procedures (e.g., academic matters, personal or employment grievances, general compensation and benefit complaints, opinions on policies, etc.). For these matters, employees are encouraged to bring concerns directly to their supervisor or manager, Human Resources, or other campus entity as appropriate.
2. Discrimination or harassment: Matters involving discrimination or harassment usually cannot be addressed appropriately when the complainant chooses to remain anonymous. As such, the University may not be able to investigate such allegations in an anonymous report. Instead, these matters should be reported directly to one of the following offices, as appropriate:
3. Student conduct issues: These issues should be reported directly to Student Development, which has existing procedures in place to address such issues.