The Ombuds Blog: Northern Alberta Institute of Technology Shutters Ombuds Program

September 22, 2023

Northern Alberta Institute of Technology Shutters Ombuds Program

In or about March 2023, the public polytechnic and applied sciences institute in Edmonton abruptly closed its Ombuds Office. Alexia Wright had served in the position for three and a half years and the program had been in existence since 2015. (Wright also served as the Treasurer for ACCUO for at least a year in 2020.) NAIT made the closure without announcement and quickly removed references to the Ombuds from online policy materials. A Reddit post offers a few sinister allegations. (LinkedIn; ACCUO Bulletin; Reddit.)

Prior: Job Posting.

3 comments:

Anonymous9/25/2023 6:09 AM
Another Ombuds does their job and gets their office shuttered. Can we say potential lawsuit? Bad all around. Sorry to hear this for Ombuds Wright. And, the students...Good luck NAIT.
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Duncan McDonald9/25/2023 9:15 PM
And I interviewed for the job and didn't get it... which apparently is a good thing.
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Anonymous9/26/2023 7:57 PM
Tell the truth to people who don't want to hear it and...boom!
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Organizational Ombuds

Organizational Ombuds serve as a confidential, independent, neutral and informal dispute resolution resource for a specific entity. They are accessible to a defined population and can advocate for fairness. These unique characteristics distinguish Organizational Ombuds from Classical Ombuds, mediators, arbitrators, and other alternative dispute resolution professionals. The term "Ombuds" is shorthand for "Ombudsman," "Ombudsperson" and "Ombuds Officer," which also are used widely.

Some other variants include:

Austria -- Ombudsstelle

Brazil -- Ouvidor

Croatia -- pravobranitelji

France -- médiateur/defénseur

Germany -- Ombudspersonen

Italy -- difensore

Netherlands -- ombudspersoon

Norway -- ombudet

Poland -- Rzecznik

Portugal -- provedor

Russia -- омбудсмен

Spain -- ombudsman organizacional

Sweden -- studentombud

Switzerland -- ombudsmann

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