Fraud, Waste, or Abuse

The Tennessee Board of Regents is committed to the responsible stewardship of its resources.

Institutional management, faculty and staff who have a reasonable basis for believing that fraud, waste or abuse has occurred must immediately report such incidents. Students, citizens and others are strongly encouraged to report known or suspected acts of fraud, waste or abuse. Although proof of an improper activity is not required at the time the incident is reported, anyone reporting such actions must have reasonable grounds for doing so. Employees with knowledge of matters constituting fraud, waste or abuse who fail to report it or employees who knowingly make false accusations may be subject to disciplinary action.

According to the PDF icon Tennessee Higher Education Accountability Act, detailed information received pursuant to a report of fraud, waste, and abuse or any on-going investigation thereof shall be considered working papers of the internal auditor and shall be confidential. Although every attempt will be made to keep information confidential, circumstances such as an order of a court or subpoena may result in disclosure. Also, if TBR or one of its institutions has a separate legal obligation to investigate the complaint (e.g., complaints of illegal harrassment or discrimination), TBR and its institutions cannot guarantee anonymity or complete confidentiality. 

All investigations will be conducted in as strict confidence as possible, with information sharing limited to persons on a “need to know” basis.  The identities of persons communicating information or otherwise involved in an investigation or allegation of misconduct or fraudulent activity will not be revealed beyond the institution and staff of the TBR Offices of General Counsel, Business and Finance and System-wide Internal Audit unless necessary to comply with reporting requirements, state law or if legal action is taken.

For more information, please see the PDF icon TBR brochure: Preventing and Reporting Fraud, Waste or Abuse and the TBR Policy 4:01:05:50 "Preventing and Reporting Fraud, Waste or Abuse." If you have an instance of fraud, waste or abuse to report, please contact one or more of the following:
  • Your supervisor or an official of the TBR or one of its institutions
  • The TBR System-wide Internal Auditor by telephone at  (615) 366-4441
  • The TBR website by using the fraud report form 
  • The TBR Office of System-wide Internal Audit by email at  ReportFraud@tbr.edu 
  • The TBR by mail at Tennessee Board of Regents, System-wide Internal Audit, 1 Bridgestone Park, Third Floor, Nashville, TN 37214