108 Reporting and Disclosure of Suspected Violations of Law or College Policies

CAMPUS CONDUCT HOTLINE: 866-943-5787

Centre College is committed to providing all members of the College community, including students, faculty, staff, alumni, vendors, and guests, with a safe and productive environment. If any member of the College community has a reason to believe or reasonably suspects that the College or any of its agents is acting contrary to any applicable federal, state or local laws or regulations, or contrary to any established College policy, they should feel welcome and encouraged to report such action or activity without fear of reprisal or retaliation. It is in the best interest of the College and the whole College community for this information to be brought forward immediately and dealt with promptly.

Employees: Any employee with reasonable suspicion of such illegal or improper activity should notify their immediate supervisor. If the complaint involves the immediate supervisor, the employee should contact their next higher level of supervisor and/or the Vice President for Human Resources and Administrative Services. Instead of or in addition to notification of supervisory personnel, any College employee with such a complaint may notify the College’s General Counsel.

Students: Any student with reasonable suspicion of such illegal or improper activity should notify the Dean of Students. Instead of or in addition to notification of Dean of Students, any student with such a complaint may notify the College’s General Counsel. In the case of sexual misconduct, please see our sexual misconduct policy.

Others: Any vendor, guest, or alumnus/a of the College, or any other interested person with reasonable suspicion of such illegal or improper activity should notify the College’s General Counsel.

Any College employee receiving such a report of suspected illegal or improper activity will report it to the College’s General Counsel. The General Counsel will then conduct a thorough investigation and recommend to the President what, if any, action might need to be taken. All such allegations shall be logged and kept under seal in the Office of General Counsel.

Retaliation against anyone bringing forward a report of suspected illegal or improper activity will not be tolerated and is, itself, against the law. Should retaliation actually occur, such act shall be considered a serious violation of College policy and will be dealt with accordingly. Encouraging others to retaliate is also a violation of this policy. At the same time, those who file fraudulent or bad faith complaints pursuant to this policy will be subject to disciplinary and/or legal action as well.

Should you wish to make a report anonymously, you may use the campus conduct hotline. Using this reporting service is easy. If you have a question or concern about a possible violation of our code of Ethics or policies, simply dial toll-free to 866-943-5787. Once you have dialed the toll-free number, here is how the reporting and follow-up processes work:

• Your call will be greeted promptly and courteously by a person who makes certain you understand the Campus Conduct Hotline program and how it functions. If you prefer to make your report in a language other than English, just let the person who answers know and they will arrange for a translator to participate.
• At the beginning of the interview, you will be provided with a five digit, randomly generated case number that you should use to check back for updates and requests for additional information. Be sure to write this number down and remember where you put it!
• You will then be interviewed about the question or concern that is on your mind.
• Your interview will not be recorded. Instead, the interviewer will be typing notes of your conversation. Whether or not you choose to provide your name is completely up to you.
• Within one business-day of your call, a summary of the interview will be forwarded to the College. The goal will be to have a basic response back to you in five business days.
• To receive your response, you will need to call back and provide the five digit case number that has been assigned to you. At that time, you might be asked to provide additional information or to call back at a later date. You will be able to keep checking back for updates until your case is closed.

Because of the built-in confidentiality, it is important that you try to be as specific as possible about the information you provide. For example, those taking the information will need to know the name of the department you work in and the location you are calling about. And, please be sure to call back in five business days to check to see if any additional information is needed. Alternatively, if you would like someone to contact you directly, you can leave your name along with a phone number where and when you would prefer to be called.

To repeat, at no time is any caller required to identify themselves and all information provided can be completely confidential and anonymous.