Complaints to the university’s ombudsperson are down twenty percent, according to the annual ombudsperson report presented at the Governing Council meeting on Dec. 12. Mary Ward, the ombudsperson, called the shift a “significant decline” that she attributed to other administration offices becoming more sensitive to student complaints.
Established in the mid-1970s, the ombudsperson attempts to solve problems that occur within the university community. Since a budget increase in the late 1990s, the ombudsperson’s office has become more active in promoting its services.
Ward said the decline in complaints is partly due to an increased number of equity officers, who handle a variety of issues such as race relations and the status of women. This has increased the amount of help available to students, Ward said.
Use of the Web is another reason why complaints to her office have decreased, Ward said. Information from a variety of offices on campus is now available on the web, including from the ombudsperson’s own Web page, so fewer people approach the ombudsperson for problems they can solve themselves with some basic information.
For example, Ward said, if a student were accused of plagiarism and didn’t know what the charge meant, they could find out answers on the ombudsperson’s Web site, without contacting the ombudsperson directly.
Ward said this means she and her office now have time to focus on more complex cases while still letting the university community know they are there and willing to help.
“We have 288 cases right now. It’s not like we’re sitting around doing nothing,” Ward said.
If a student comes in with a problem, Ward emphasized, the ombudsperson is impartial and does not represent the student, but acts to clarify an issue and act as an expediting force. It’s also important, Ward added, that the student realize there is sometimes a process the student must go through first, such as in an academic appeal. The ombudsperson cannot intervene on anyone’s behalf. They are also an independent body that cannot change rules but only make recommendations, Ward said.
Hits are already up, said Ward, especially at U of T’s Mississauga and Scarborough campuses, where she has been spending time on Mondays and Thursdays. This increase is due to the greater ombudsperson presence at these campuses, where it is particularly important due to the high enrolment expected there next year.
“What I’m particularly concerned about is the student who is perhaps not in residence or is an international student…those in residence probably are more aware of these things… and they feel isolated because they have a problem and don’t know who to turn to,” she said.
Ward expects the decline in complaints will not continue in the next few years; there is already evidence it may be over. Ward said there has been a five per cent increase in complaints in the last six months.
Emoline Thiruchelvam, vice-president of education at the Students’ Administrative Council (SAC) said the 20 per cent decline was a positive result, adding that other offices such as SAC help resolve disputes.
