Advisement,
complaints are handled with university ombuds
By Gina Ponce
On-line Forty-Niner
For
students who may be having problems with
any aspects of Cal State Long Beach there
is now a place provided for them to turn.
 The
University Ombuds was “created so that students,
staff and faculty would have a place to
go and get help and advice in an informal
way,” President Robert Maxson said.
Maxson said the informal part of it is really
important to understand that people with
problems do not have to go through a formal
process.
The office is working well because there
is a wonderfully capable and dynamic person
running it, Maxson said. So many have been
able to resolve issues.
Currently
Elizabeth Novack is the only ombuds for
the program that began in August 2001.
The Office of University Ombuds strictly
deals with informal complaints that are
not restricted in any way. According
to Jan Reyes, director of Equity and Diversity,
the Ombuds office has broader parameters
than the Office of Equity and Diversity
which deals with informal and formal complaints.
These grievances are restricted to grounds
defined by civil rights and the discrimination
law.
“Organizationally, the Ombuds office and
Equity and Diversity form a unit called
campus relations that reports to the president,”
Reyes said.
Novack dealt with 300 cases in the 2001-2002
academic year, but only 237 of those were
recorded by clients filling out confidential
questionnaires. For the 2001-2002
school year undergraduate students made
up the largest percentage of clients at
40.5 percent.
“Every case is very different and unique,”
Novack said. Interpersonal conflicts
were the biggest problems recorded at 38.8
percent of the 237 cases.
This includes lack of effective communication,
insufficient explanation of assignment and
work responsibilities, and a disregard of
professionalism.
Academic issues made up 19.8 percent of
the complaints, and approximately 17 percent
were personnel issues. So far this
semester there have been about 120 cases
reported.
Novack said the Ombuds office is not an
office of records. If someone has
a complaint they are not giving a formal
notice to the University because it is such
an informal process and the ombuds is neutral,
she said.
Novack said she may act as a mediator, contact,
resource, adviser or just help someone to
understand policies and procedures when
working out ways to resolve a problem.
She said it is her responsibility to ensure
people are treated fairly and equitably
and that there is a thorough investigation.
Reyes said the Office of Equity and Diversity
receive approximately 50 cases a year that
deal with discrimination, harassment and
retaliation. Reyes said a formal complaint
is handled by official notification to the
person charged, a written response, a full
investigation, collection of all pertinent
documents and a report of the findings,
conclusion and recommendation for action.
When asked who she would go to if she had
a complaint Novack said, “After hearing
some of the issues that come in it gives
me pause to think about my own life and
realize I have nothing to complain about.
If I did have a complaint I would utilize
my skills and go talk with the person.”
“The Ombuds office has certainly filled
a void,” Reyes said.
She said that with the volume of cases they
report that means at least those people
had somewhere to turn and there is a question
that if the office was not there would these
people have gone to anyone else.
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