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What an Ombuds Does:
- Listen, which may be all the visiting faculty or staff member wants or needs
- Discuss concerns and help clarify the most important issues
- Help identify and refer to other resources appropriate to the faculty or staff member’s concerns
- Explain policies and processes
- Provide a confidential forum where different options may be considered
- Serve as a neutral party to solve problems and resolve conflict
- Offer coaching (e.g. help the faculty or staff member prepare for a difficult conversation)
- Assist in informal resolution of concerns regarding a variety of faculty- or staff-presented issues
- Initiate informal inquiry for the purpose of clarifying situations and factual details
- Initiate offers of assistance to faculty or staff members identified by university processes as “in need”
- Facilitate programming and prevention education, empowering university community members towards successful conflict prevention, management, and resolution
- Provide the faculty or staff member with information about how a complaint may be made to the University
- Report trends; make recommendations for institutional improvement
- Use experience, knowledge, and judgment to assist any NC State faculty or staff
What an Ombuds Does Not Do:
- Accept formal complaints, or notice for the university
- Render formal decisions
- Offer legal advice
- Alter policy
- Circumvent administrative procedures
- Offer psychological counseling
- Participate in any formal university grievance or hearing
- Mediate disputes between faculty and staff members or administrators
- Testify in any judicial or administrative proceeding, unless required by law after reasonable efforts have been made to protect confidentiality
- Serve as a place to advocate for any individual or entity
- Address issues involving persons not at NC State University