International Ombudsman Institute Publishes 2010-11 Annual Report

In the last fiscal year, the IOI General Secretariat reports that membership increased to 135 from 122 in 2009-10. The report highlights IOI initiatives, including training programs and investment projects. The IOI updates its research work and reports that it is currently implementing the first comparative study of independent ombudsman institutions in the Asia–Pacific region.

Looking ahead, IOI has two clear priorities: 1. preparing for the IOI world conference in New Zealand in 2012; and 2. implementing a comprehensive IOI reform, which will focus on transparency and accountability. The report was authored by IOI President Beverley A. Wakem and Secretary General Peter Kostelka. (IOI Annual Report.)

 Related posts: New Zealand Ombuds Elected to Lead IOI; IOI Strategic Plans Parallel IOA's; International Ombudsman Institute Posts North American Newsletter; International Ombudsman Institute Will Hold 2012 Conference in New Zealand.

Ohio State Ombuds Publishes First Report

Jack A. Rall, who was appointed the Faculty Ombudsman at OSU on October 1, 2010, has posted his first annual report. Rall said that during 2010-2011 academic year, he had a 64 interactions with 35 faculty from 24 different campus units and regional campuses.

Rall's report also detailed his work starting up the office, including training, outreach and developing publicity. In addition, Rall said that he was being mentored by Lillian Santa-Maria, an Ombuds at the University of Cincinnati. (OSU Ombuds Report.)

Related post: Ohio State University Trustees Approve Faculty Ombuds Program; Ohio State University Names First Faculty Ombuds; University of Cincinnati Ombuds Office Marks Four Decades of Service.

University of Texas Faculty Ombuds Caseload Eases

Mary Steinhardt, the Faculty Ombudsperson at UT Austin, says that she assisted 48 faculty members in 2010-11, down from 58 in the prior year. In addition, she began serving visitors holding postdoctoral fellowship appointments and assisted two in this category.

Stenhardt reported that the majority of cases were resolved through informational mediation, counseling, and coaching, and only a few were referred to other resources. Her work as an Ombuds averaged seven to nine hours per week during the fall and spring semesters, and five to seven hours per week during the summer. (UT Austin Ombuds 2011 Report.)

Related posts: University of Texas Austin Appoints Faculty Ombuds; University of Texas Austin Ombuds Reports Increase in Faculty Cases [2009]; University of Texas Ombuds Sees Another Jump in Faculty Cases [2010].

Iowa State University Ombuds Posts Report for 2011

Elaine Newell, Ombuds Officer for ISU, says that the caseload for her office declined slightly one year after the campus struggled with layoffs and reorganizations. The total number of cases in the 2011 fiscal year declined 23% to 79. Professional and Scientific employees again were the most frequent visitors to the Ombuds Office this year, but also there was an increase in the number of faculty visitors.

Newell reports that visits by Graduate and Professional students continued to decline. And for the third year in a row, interpersonal conflict was the most common issue that visitors presented during office visits. Newell opened the office in the fall of 2008 and has a 60% appointment as the Ombuds. (ISU Ombuds 2011 Report.)

Related posts: Iowa State Loses First Permanent Ombuds, Quickly Hires Replacement; Profile of Iowa State Ombuds; First Report From Iowa State University Ombuds; Iowa State University Ombuds and Librarian Create Online Conflict Guide for Staff.

Northern Illinois University Ombuds Posts Annual Report

Tim D. Griffin, University Ombudsman at NIU, reports that his office provided advice and assistance to 1,025 individuals during the year ended May 15, 2011. Griffin said that, "The number of people contacting the Office of the Ombudsman over the past year for assistance regarding matters related to class instruction was considerably higher than the prior year." The majority of visitors were students (71%), but the office was also consulted by faculty (10%), staff (10%), and family members (6%).

In addition to data summarizing office visitors and issues, the report also highlights other work of the office, including sponsorship of the Summer Meeting of College and University Ombudspersons and campus trainings and committee service. (NIU Ombuds 2011 Report.)

Related posts: Profile of Northern Illinois University Ombuds; NIU Ombuds Reflects on Campus Tragedy; Northern Illinois University Ombuds Office Turns 40; Attendance Rises at Ninth Annual Summer Meeting of Academic Ombuds.

Northern Arizona University Ombuds Reports a Three-Year Uptick in Cases

Phoebe Morgan, program coordinator for Northern Arizona University’s Faculty Ombuds Program reports that requests for direct assistance increased for the third consecutive year. The number for the 2010-11 academic year was 162% higher than reported in the Program’s first year, 2007-08. Interpersonal disputes with students, staff and administrators continued to be the primary reason why faculty members contacted the Faculty Ombuds Office. 

Morgan recommended extending the Faculty Ombuds Program’s operations from nine to twelve months to address the conflict management needs of those who conduct university business during the intersessions, and enhancement of the dispute intervention skills of faculty with administrative duties by increasing their opportunities for relevant training. For a PDF of the report, contact Phoebe . Morgan @ nau . edu or the NAU Faculty Ombuds Office at ombuds . office @ nau . edu.

Related post: New Faculty Ombuds Coordinator at N. Arizona U.; Northern Arizona University Faculty Ombuds Reports 55% Jump in Cases.

University of Colorado Denver Ombuds Sees 45% Jump in Cases

In its eleventh annual report, the CU Denver Ombuds Office said it saw 525 people in the year ended June 2011, a significant increase from about 362 in the prior year. Moreover, an increase in the number of systemic issues brought to the office meant that visitors required more than the typical one to three visits.

The report makes several recommendations including management training, development of a university-wide civility code, and adoption of a faculty professionalism code. In addition, the report says that two faculty Ombuds will be hired on a part-time basis next year. The members of the office are Melissa Connell, Director; Mary Chavez Rudolph, Associate Director; and Lisa Neale, Ombuds. (UC Denver Ombuds Office 2011 Annual Report.)

Related posts: University of Colorado Denver Ombuds Reports 31% Jump in Cases [2010]; Journal of IOA Highlights Bullying Issues; Cal Caucus Relaunches Journal.

University of Pennsylvania Ombuds Recommends Program Update

Joan Goodman, University Ombudsman, chronicles the four-decade history of her office in her most recent biennial report. UPenn established one of the first university Ombuds programs in 1971 in response to student demonstrations and general unrest. Although the mix of issues and concerns has changed over the years, Goodman says that the focus of the office remains on “helping aggrieved visitors share their concerns, review options, and plan potential responses.” However, Goodman also raises the issue of whether her office has kept up adequately with changes in the profession.

Forty years ago few universities had an Ombudsman Office; we can take pride in being among the first. But this has changed. Along with the growth of the ombudsman movement in universities, corporations, and government the field has been increasingly professionalized. Today an International Ombudsman Association (IOA) holds conferences, publishes a journal, trains novices, offers certification, and specifies principles of practice. Its explicit normative standards are broadly accepted among the Ivies and other institutions. Because in some instances our practice is not in compliance with IOA standards, we are ineligible for full membership. While there is no one-size-fits-all exemplary model, it is nonetheless my strong recommendation that Penn conduct a review of our Office in light of these standards.

(UPenn Almanac.)

Related posts: University of Pennsylvania Ombuds Issues Annual Report; University of Pennsylvania Appoints Ombuds.

CERN Ombuds Posts First Annual Report

Vincent Vuillemi, the Ombuds at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, has published a report covering the first year of his office's operation. Vuillemi says that he handled 82 consultations, of which 76% were CERN staff, 10% were CERN users, and 6% were fellows. In total, he assisted about 2.7% of CERN's 2,328 staff members.

Vuillemi saw almost equal numbers of men and women, but noted that given the predominance of men at the institution, women were 2.7 times more likely than men to use the Ombuds service. In addition to other statistical information, Vuillemi also identifying systematic problems and offered recommendations to CERN management. (CERN Ombuds Report 2010-11.)

Related posts: CERN Appoints an Ombuds; New CERN Ombuds Debuts Website; CERN Ombuds Begins Series of Articles for Employees.

Faculty Ombuds at University of Colorado Boulder Publish 2011 Report

The Faculty Ombuds at CU Boulder, Lee Potts and Larry Singell, handled 46 cases involving 70 people in 2010-2011. Although the number of cases declined from the prior year, Potts and Singell engaged with significantly more people, a total of 344, through service and outreach activities.

The also noted that most of their visitors were concerned about conflicts within evaluative or colleague relationships. (CU Boulder Ombuds Reports.)

Related posts: Faculty Ombuds at University of Colorado Boulder Report Increase in Caseload; Ombuds for University of Colorado at Boulder Posts Biennial Report.

University of Ottawa Ombuds Publishes First Annual Report

In her first report on the office she opened in September 2010, uOttawa Ombudsperson Lucie Allaire says she handled 174 cases in nine months. Academic and financial concerns topped the list of issues, reflecting the fact that majority of visitors were undergraduate students.

Allaire said that, in addition to responding to student complaints, she devoted a significant amount of time to raising awareness of the Ombuds' role and services by making presentations, devloping a website, and publishing promotional materials. The Assistant Ombudsperson at uOttawa is Iman Ibrahim. (uOttawa Ombuds Publications.)

Related posts: University of Ottawa Appoints First Ombuds; University of Ottawa Publishes Ombuds Terms of Reference; Profile of New Ombuds at University of Ottawa.

Confederation College Ombuds Posts Third Annual Report

Kim Morgan, who founded the Ombuds program at Confederation in 2008, reports continued strong demand for her services. In the 2010-2011 academic year, she handled 131 student matters, a 40% increase from the first year of the office. In addition to several pages of graphs and data, Morgan's report also includes 14 specific recommendations, mostly for enhanced communication by staff. (Confederation Ombuds 2011 Annual Report.)

Related posts: New Ombuds Office at Confederation College; Confederation College Gives Quick Update on Usage.

University of Iowa Ombuds Reports Growing Incivility Problem

The annual report from the UI Office of the Ombudsperson shows a slight decrease in the number of cases, but a persistent problem with disrespectful behavior on campus. UI Staff Ombudsperson Cynthia Joyce told the Iowa City Press-Citizen, "A pattern we are very concerned about is the number of visitors concerned about respective behavior that has been inching up over the last number of years." According to the annual report by Joyce and Faculty Ombudsperson Susan Johnson, a quarter of visitor complaints involved disrespectful behavior and another six percent were about about workplace bullying.

The UI Ombuds office handled 501 total matters in the 2010-2011 academic year, a decrease of 3% from last year's record case load. Staff comprised 45% of visitors, students comprised 32%, and 18% were faculty members. (UI Ombuds 2011 Annual Report Summary; Iowa City Press-Citizen.)

Related posts: University of Iowa Ombuds Profiled; University of Iowa Appoints New Ombuds; Despite Relatively Calm Year, University of Iowa Ombuds Report Record Caseload.

University of South Carolina Ombuds Reviews First Five Years

In his fifth annual report, University Ombudsperson Jim Augustine, looks back on the cases he has handled since establishing the Ombuds program at USC in 2006. In that time, the office has emerged as an important resource for faculty with concerns about evaluative and peer relationships and career issues.

Augustine's analysis of his caseload may be of interest to other faculty Ombuds:

I have done an informal survey of a number of Carnegie Foundation Tier I institutions and the average number of faculty visitors to the ombuds office at those institutions based primarily on annual reports, self-reports or reports in the Ombuds Blog. The number of faculty visitors to the ombuds office at these academic institutions averaged 49 in 2006-2007 (n = 27 schools), 46 in 2007-2008 (n = 31 schools), 43.2 in 2008-2009 (n = 28 schools), 44.5 in 2009-2010 (n = 23 schools), and 41 in 2010-2011 (n = 9 schools to date). That averages out to be about 46 visitors per year at these Carnegie Tier I schools during the past 5 years. Over the past five years the USC ombudsman has assisted some 256 faculty members for an average of 51 visitors per year.

(USC Ombuds 2011 Report.)

Related posts: University of South Carolina Ombuds Issues Third Annual Report; Public Invited to Comment on Proposed SEC Ombuds Office; Ombuds at University of South Carolina Posts Fourth Annual Report.

King County Ombudsman Reports Increase in Cases in 2010

The Classical Ombuds program for King County, WA reports that it handled 2,950 complaints and inquiries from County residents and employees last year. Nearly all cases were resolved within one month and a scant 3% resulted in a formal investigation. Most cases were resolved through information and direct assistance. Total cases have risen 113% from 1386 in 2003. (King County Ombudsman 2010 Report.)

Related post: Annual Report from King County Ombudsman Shows Increasing Demand for Services.

Ombuds for Students at Baylor University Reports Further Declines in Caseload

Martha Lou Scott, the Ombuds to Students at the private university in Waco, TX, reports that contacts to her office declined for the fourth straight year. In total cases fell slightly to 61 from 62 in 2010 and from 84 in 2007. Scott also said that the trend in parents contacting the Ombuds for assistance for their students remains steady. Baylor's student Ombuds program has been in place for six years. (Baylor Student Life.)

Related posts: Baylor Names Faculty Ombuds; Baylor University Begins Work on Staff Ombuds Position.

World Bank Ombuds Reports Record Caseload in 2010

The World Bank office of Ombuds Services reports that it saw 458 new visitors in 2010—its highest caseload and a 33 percent increase over the prior year. Ombuds Thomas Zgambo and Constance Bernard believe the increase may be due to greater awareness of the Conflict Resolution System and a challenging year with a decreasing budget and increasing staff workload. In addition to the jump in visitors, the World Bank Ombuds also participated in a record number of interventions in 2010. 

The growing caseload has lead the bank to recruit a third Ombuds, who should be appointed before the end of the year.  In addition to visitor statistics, the report also summarizes the results of a visitor survey and the activities of the Respectful Workplace Advisors Program, which is administered by the Ombuds Office. (World Bank Ombuds 2010 Annual Report.)

Related posts: World Bank Adds Ombuds; World Bank Corporate Responsibility Report Acknowledges Ombuds Program; Job Posting; World Bank Ombuds to be Featured at ACR 2011 Conference.

University of Arkansas Ombuds Posts 2010-11 Annual Report

Sue Theiss, the Director and Ombuds for UARK, reports that her office assisted with the resolution of 80 new cases in the last academic year. In addition, the University Ombuds Office offered 30 workshops and educational presentations to hundreds of students and employees regarding conflict management theory and practice. Theiss also made presentations on bullying to the wider community in Fayetteville. (UARK Ombuds Office Annual Report.)

Related posts: U of Arkansas Office of Student Mediation Changing Name to Ombuds Office; University of Arkasas Ombuds Sheds Advocacy Program; University of Arkansas Posts Annual Report for Ombuds Office [2010].

ENOHE Newsletter Highlights 2011 Conference

With the start of its ninth annual conference in Madrid, the European Network for Ombudsmen in Higher Education has published its latest newsletter. In addition to an overview of conference activities, the newsletter includes the following articles:

• Editorial by Josef Leidenfrost, Austrian Student Ombudsman and Convenor of ENOHE
• 8th ENOHE Conference 2010, Vienna through the Rearview Mirror
• New ENOHE Homepage and Listserv
• Journal of the European Higher Education Area
• Austrian Student Ombudsman: Enshrined in Law – at Last
• Are Ombudsmen ready for Social Media? Their Stakeholders are! by Michael Reddy and Guy Stephens, Syndicus Associates
• Student Ombudsman Established at the PUCP
• A Letter from the International Ombudsman Association by Tom A. Kosakowski, IOA President
• Ulrike Beisiegel, New President of Göttingen University
• OIA Annual Report 2010
• Forthcoming Events and Publications

Except as noted, most of the articles were apparently written by Josef Leidenfrost.  (ENOHE Newsletters.)

Related posts: The Ombuds Year in Review: 2010; Registration Opens for ENOHE Annual Conference in Madrid; ENOHE Publishes Proceedings of Joint Conference with ACCUO.

ICANN Interim Ombuds Reports to Board

As ICANN continues its search for a permanent Ombudsman, the Interim Ombuds Herb Waye, presented a report at the most recent board meeting in Singapore. Waye said that he had handled 10 complaints in the first half of 2011, compared to 33 in the same period last year. He also noted that there have been no outreach activities since the departure of the founding Ombuds, Frank Fowlie, and that as Interim Ombuds he has chosen to focus his efforts internally rather than externally. Waye is expected to continue in his interim role until the search process is completed. (ICANN Ombudsman Blog.)

Related posts: ICANN Ombuds Releases Fifth Annual Report (2009); Job Posting; ICANN Ombuds Points Out -- Executive Ombuds Have No Professional Group; ICANN’s Adjunct Ombudsman is Keeping the Lights On.