January 18, 2011

UC Santa Barbara Ombuds Reports Above-Average Caseload Despite Budget Cuts

Priscilla Mori, the Campus Ombuds at the University of California Santa Barbara, says that her office handled 330 cases in the 2009-10 academic year, well above the five-year average of 295 cases. Although cases were down slightly from the prior year, the latest figures were particularly significant because of furloughs that affected all campus staff, including those in the UCSB Ombuds Office. Mori said that 42% of visitors were staff, 38% were students, and 15% were faculty.

Cases were also rated on a complexity scale from 1-5, reflecting factors such as risk level, impact on the organization or impact on others, perceived impact on the individual, and effort by the Ombuds. The report also says that a charter for the office has been endorsed by the campus administration. Kirsi Aulin is the Associate Ombuds and Bill Forgie is the Faculty Ombuds. (UCSB 2009-10 Annual Report.)

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