Our office typically handles about 200 cases a year, most of which involve application of employment or academic procedures. Visitors are divided more or less evenly among faculty, students and staff.
The ombuds office assists visitors with a wide range of concerns, including:
Unfair treatment
Supervisor / employee issues
Complaints of discrimination
Faculty / staff / student misunderstandings
Unethical behavior
Fear of retaliation
Interpersonal miscommunication and cultural conflicts
Typical situations we might see include:
A faculty member who believes his or her department is not faithfully following tenure review procedures
A student who thinks a professor unfairly changed course requirements during the term
An employee who is experiencing conflict with a peer or supervisor