Survey Finds Ombuds Offices at Nearly All Top Universities

A new report by Neil H. Katz, a professor at Nova Southeastern University, and PhD students Kadianne Pinard and Ronda Rascon examines the presence and organizational characteristics of Ombuds programs at the top 80 U.S. universities. The survey, initially conducted by graduate students in Katz’s Fall 2024 Organizational Ombuds course, was updated and expanded in July 2026 using the 2026 U.S. News & World Report rankings. The updated survey found that 96% of the 80 universities had established Ombuds offices, with one of the three institutions without an office considering establishing one. 

The report also highlights considerable variation among the 77 universities with Ombuds offices. Offices differed in staffing levels, reporting relationships, titles, and the populations they serve. While some offices serve students or faculty exclusively, most serve faculty, staff, and students. Staffing ranged from single-Ombuds offices to programs with multiple full-time professionals and administrative support. The report also examines when Ombuds services were established, office location, and reporting structures. The authors describe the findings as a snapshot of the current state of university Ombuds programs. Readers interested in the underlying data can also request the spreadsheet containing the data for all 80 universities directly from the authors. (2026 University Ombuds Survey from NSU Research Team.)

Related posts: Nova Southeastern University Awards Scholarship for Ombuds Research; Article Profiles Role of Higher Ed Ombuds as Workplace Conflict Experts; Nova Southeastern University Names First Ombuds for its College of Arts and Sciences; De Gruyter Handbook of Organizational Conflict Management; Peruse Ombuds Dissertations at Nova Southeastern University.