There are multiple avenues that you may pursue to make a report of suspected or actual wrongful conduct, depending on what makes you feel the most comfortable. Regardless of which method you choose to use, it is important to speak up when you see wrongdoing or have concerns that someone has violated the law or university policies.
Reporting at Rice University
Whom do I tell if I have a concern?
- Your immediate supervisor or manager
Whom do I contact if it is inappropriate to report a concern to my immediate supervisor?
- Department chair or dean of your school
- For any concern, the Associate Vice President & Chief Compliance Officer, the Director of Internal Audit, or the Office of General Counsel
- For financial misconduct concerns, the Executive Vice President for Operations, Finance, & Support or Controller
- For areas relating to violations of university policies, the Office of General Counsel
- For employment-related matters, the Associate Vice President for Human Resources and the Office of General Counsel
- For faculty-specific concerns, the appropriate dean or the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs
- For research misconduct, the appropriate dean or the Assistant Vice President, Research Integrity.
- For research on animal welfare, the Animal Welfare Hotline or Animal Resources Facility Manager
- For safety and environmental concerns, the Director of Environmental Health and Safety or the Executive Vice President for Operations, Finance, & Support.
- For equality or nondiscrimination concerns (including sexual harassment), the Executive Director of Equal Opportunity Services
- For youth protection concerns, the Associate Vice President & Chief Compliance Officer or the Assistant Director, Youth Protection and Compliance
- For athletic concerns (including NCAA compliance), the NCAA Compliance Coordinator, the Associate Athletic Director or the Athletic Director.
- For any alleged sexual misconduct that involves a student, the Title IX coordinator, the Dean of Undergraduates, the Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies or the Rice Counseling Center.
- For immediate help, the Rice University Police Department
- To report any concern anonymously, the Rice University Ethics Line
Anonymous Reporting
You may report any concern anonymously using the Rice University Ethics Line, which is managed by the third-party vendor Ethics Point. Reports may be submitted anonymously and confidentially in English, Spanish, and many other languages. Reports will be directed to the appropriate University official for investigation. Reports will not be directed to any individual who is named within the report.
After you complete your report, you will be assigned a unique code called a "report key." Write down your report key and password and keep them in a safe place. This key will allow you to log in at any time, from any place, and follow up on your report. It will also allow you to anonymously access and answer follow-up questions from Rice (if you are comfortable doing so).
You may either call 1-866-294-4633 (toll-free), or go online at www.rice.edu/ethics (will redirect to the secured Ethics Point site)
Government Reporting
You may also report concerns related to government grants or contracts directly to the government.
- For NSF 1-800-428-2189 or National Science Foundation (NSF) - Fraud Hotline
- For DOD 1-800-424-9098 or U.S. Department of Defense - DoD Hotline
- For HHS (including NIH) 1-800-HHS-TIPS or U.S. Department of Health & Human Services - Office of Inspector General
- U.S. department For the Dept. of Ed. Office for Civil Rights 1-800-421-3481 or Office for Civil Rights - Complaint Assessment System
- For the State of Texas 1-800-TX-AUDIT or The State Auditor's Office (SAO) - Fraud, Waste, or Abuse Hotline
Whistleblower Protection
The University prohibits retaliation in any form against a person for reporting in good faith. Further, it is expected that all personnel will cooperate fully with any investigation by the University or law enforcement. The University will take all appropriate and necessary action to deal with a violation of this policy. See University Policy 813, Whistleblower Protection