Ombuds at Northern Illinois University Reports Surge in Mediation Work

In a report to NIU’s University Council, Ombudsperson Sarah Klaper said she conducted a record number of mediations and facilitationsin the 2019-20 academic year. “I was involved in 74. A lot of it was involving respect, ethical concerns, discrimination issues, fears,” she told the student newspaper, Northern Star. 

Another significant trend in student cases, was disputes over the university’s grading standards during the COVID-19 pandemic. “It has always been an issue, but it is particularly a challenge now,” Klaper said. “We were seeing a lot of grade appeals from the spring semester and over the summer focused a lot on the issues relating to [COVID-19].” Klaper is in the middle of her first year as a member of the IOA Board of Directors. (Northern Star.)

Related posts: Northern Illinois University Names New Ombuds; Northern Illinois University Reviews Ombuds Office; Ombuds Case Numbers Grow at Northern Illinois University; Registration Opens for 2018 Summer Academic Ombuds Meeting; Northern Illinois University Erodes Ombuds' Confidentiality; IOA Voting for 2020 Board to be Strictly Pro Forma.