The Student Ombud role is both a responsive and a proactive/educative one. This means the Student Ombud responds to concerns or complaints made by students and identifies practices, policies, procedures that are not working as well as they could be for students. The Student Ombud reports to the University Council on trends or systemic issues that may be negatively impacting on students and makes recommendations for change or improvements.
The Student Ombud cannot override a decision of the University however, depending on the matter at hand, can ask for a reconsideration or an amendment to the decision. While the Student Ombud cannot always guarantee the outcome you may be seeking, they will provide an impartial assessment as to whether the University’s actions/decisions align with its policies and procedures and whether they are (or may not be) reasonable in the circumstances. The Student Ombud can also refer you to external avenues of appeal if you are dissatisfied with the outcome.
What you may expect from the Student Ombud: