By Noah Miller
Various groups at the University of Calgary will now have access to an impartial arbitrator who has the capacity to resolve disputes between the Students’ Union, Graduate Students’ Association and the university with some real gusto.
The new role, known as the ombudsperson, boasts “recognized standing” by the SU, GSA and the university along with investigatory power in order to resolve disputes on behalf of students.
According to SU vice-president academic Meg Martin the process started three years ago when then vp academic Brittany Sargent travelled to other universities and noticed that the U of C was one of the only institutions without an ombudsperson office.
Martin noted that there has been a Students’ Rights Advisor at the U of C for 10 years now and that it is a “really good service” that “a lot of students access,” but that there was ultimately a desire for a position with a little more ‘umph’.
“The issue has been that the SRA has not been within the university system, doesn’t have any investigatory power and can only advise students,” said Martin. “So it’s been important that we’ve hired people that have had good relationships with the university, but at the same time it’s been difficult for us because our person has no official status.”
Martin added that without this “recognized standing” it is very difficult to intervene on the part of students at the university level.
“[The SU] made the suggestion that there be an ombudsperson office established that would have investigatory powers, that could advise on policies that maybe weren’t equitable and that would be a better, centralized place for students to go for non-academic and academic concerns,” said Martin.
The university agreed and, though it has taken three years to negotiate, both the university and the GSA are now on board.
“We interviewed a couple of months ago,” said Martin. “There were a lot of good candidates.”
At the top of the stack was Robert Clegg, current SRA to the SU.
“We’re really happy that Mr. Clegg got it,” said Martin. “He’s a lawyer, has a background in natural justice. He has a really good policy background. He’s also been here for two years. He’s student friendly; we’ve never had any complaint or issue with him. We get lots of happy students coming through his office.”
According to Martin the terms of reference will be signed by the SU, GSA and university before the April 15 deadline. These three bodies will govern the ombudsperson and split the expenses with the exception of the GSA, a portion of whose expenses will be picked up by the university.
“I am really happy that we have the three-part governing structure,” said Martin. “It’s kind of a unique arrangement. I think it is important that the three parts are in on it.”
As for where students can find their new ombudsperson, it is still unclear where the office will be. It “should be up in the Undergraduate Programs Office,” said Martin.
see Ombudsperson office, page 5
“We’ll be doing a big campaign to tell the students where exactly they should be going.”
University of British Columbia Alma Mater Society VP academic and university affairs Ben Cappellacci reiterated the value of having the ombudsperson as a resource.
Cappellacci noted that UBC’s students’ union created a similar position several years ago to quell concerns over a lack of effective arbitration when it came to student issues.
“If there [are] any issues when it comes to unfair grading practices, unfair practices with regards to academic rulings, the ombudsperson will advise them on what resources to contact and will mediate discussion or debates between these two parties,” said Cappellacci. “That’s a pretty valuable role for students. But within the context of the student union . . . if there [are] any issues that are occurring, for instance say a club or between the student government and student groups, the ombudsperson has been called in in the past to mediate those kinds of things.”
Clegg — who could not be reached for comment — began his role as ombudsperson March 1.
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