The Ombuds Blog: Austrian Student Ombuds Reports on 2024

January 16, 2026

Austrian Student Ombuds Reports on 2024–25 Cases

Austria's national Student Ombuds Office (Ombudsstelle für Studierende headed by Anna-Katharina Rothwangl) received 775 inquiries during the 2024–25 academic year, according to its annual report to Parliament. The independent office serves 440,000 students across 77 higher education institutions and emphasizes information-sharing and student empowerment as its primary functions, with mediation used in selected cases.

The report highlights thematic events on academic integrity, particularly in digital contexts, and a growing number of concerns raised by international applicants and students, often involving misaligned admissions and residence timelines. National and international collaboration continued through the Austrian Ombuds network and ENOHE, including the launch of a new certificate program and work on guidance for transnational case handling. (Ombudsstelle Tätigkeitsbericht 2024-25.)

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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:

Brazil -- Ouvidor

Croatia -- pravobranitelji

France -- médiateur/defénseur

Germany/Austria -- Ombudspersonen and Ombudsleute

Italy -- difensore

Netherlands -- ombudspersoon

Norway -- ombudet

Poland -- Rzecznik

Portugal -- provedor

Russia -- омбудсмен

Spain -- ombudsman organizacional

Sweden -- studentombud

Switzerland -- ombudsmann

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