Know Your Skeptic: Community College Administrator Can't Picture an Effective Ombuds

Matt Reed writes a blog for Inside Higher Education: "Confessions of a Community College Dean." His latest post poses a question to people who have seen an Ombuds work well. "How do well-functioning ones work? How do they avoid the fates of becoming either the Angel of Death or the Human Circular File?  I’m honestly struggling to picture it."

Part of his problem may be that he conflates Organizational Ombuds, which are the norm in higher ed, with Classical Ombuds, which he encountered as a summer intern in a mayor’s office. Most significantly, Reed (whose college does not have an Ombuds) believes Ombuds cannot be effective because they have no positional authority. (InsideHigherEd.)

At the time of this post Ombuds and others with positive experiences had commented on the piece, including Bryan Hanson and Tim Hedeen. 

Related posts: Wake Tech Ombuds Starting Group for Community College Ombuds; Group Forms for Ombuds in Small Liberal Arts Colleges.