In his annual report, Daniel Huffaker, Dalhousie University Ombuds, noted that the caseload of his office has been declining in recent years. The annual number of cases has fallen from more than a hundred a few years to about thirty cases in the 2007-08 academic year. Huffaker attributes the decline in part to the expanded number of student services introduced by the University since the early 1990s. He also cites the relocation of the Ombuds Office to a remote location in 2002. Huffaker hopes traffic will rebound after the office moves back to the Student Union Building this summer. (Dalhousie Ombuds 2007-08 Report.)
January 31, 2009
Dalhousie University Ombuds Hopes to Reverse Declining Caseload
In his annual report, Daniel Huffaker, Dalhousie University Ombuds, noted that the caseload of his office has been declining in recent years. The annual number of cases has fallen from more than a hundred a few years to about thirty cases in the 2007-08 academic year. Huffaker attributes the decline in part to the expanded number of student services introduced by the University since the early 1990s. He also cites the relocation of the Ombuds Office to a remote location in 2002. Huffaker hopes traffic will rebound after the office moves back to the Student Union Building this summer. (Dalhousie Ombuds 2007-08 Report.)
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The problem with successful "treatment" of a disease is that the non-profit that raised the funds to research the "cure" will have to go out of business and people become unemployed once no one has that illness anymore. Isn't this the real goal? This is good, unless we want perpetual illness. Daniel Huffacker has evidently been "successful" in his work, the university responded to his recommendations over many years evidently, but moving to the Student Union only provides "quick drive through service" for potentially "less serious" complaints to be filed and other issue will arise. Better to "scale back", maintain the low level of complaints and know you have been successful; and maintain referrals and brochures that the ombudsman is available "in private confidentiality" off campus.
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