Mohamad A. Ansari, the Faculty Ombudsperson at Penn State, gave his annual report last week summarizing the work of Academic Units Ombudspersons across the university in 2017-18. The format of the report is a collection of responses to a survey of the 65 Penn State Ombuds. According to the report, "ombudspersons who had been contacted by the faculty were able to resolve 39 cases out of 90 cases (43.33%)" during the last academic year. The total number of cases was up 2.2% from 2016-17. (Penn State 2018 Ombuds Report.)
Related posts: Pennsylvania State Faculty Ombuds Issues Annual Report; Alumni Candidate for Penn State Board Suggests Ombuds; Penn State Faculty Weigh New Ombuds as Part of Response to Athletic Sanctions; Penn State Posts Ombuds Training Materials; Penn State Seeking Next Ombuds; Penn State Appoints Faculty Ombuds; Penn State Names Next Faculty Ombuds.
I appreciate and support the desire to establish fair standards for ombuds accountability and outcomes. But I am very uncomfortable with "resolved" as a standard. Even mediators hired to assist with discrete disputes would find success measured in terms of "resolutions" uncomfortable.
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