Faculty and staff can help students find resources using the MSU Ombudsperson

The role of ombudspersons in higher education is growing, as more universities prioritize student success by helping resolve conflicts across campus. And faculty and staff can play an important role in helping students find the key resources they need. 

Shannon Lynn Burton, named university ombudsperson in July 2018, and her staff focus on assisting students in resolving conflicts or disputes with the university, as well as navigating and understanding their rights and university policy. She also helps staff members, instructors and administrators sort through university rules and regulations that might apply to specific student issues and concerns.

“The office is a vital space within the university to not only address student-related concerns, but a place to foster and build trust among community members, as well as examine our concepts of fair treatment and due process,” she said.

It is important that MSU employees know what resources her office offers, Burton said.

“MSU is a big place, with many different policies and processes,” she said. “Often, a faculty or staff member may not know exactly where to send a student who is dealing with conflict. Our office can help that student find the right resource to resolve what they are dealing with.”

The office also provides presentations and trainings on conflict resolution, as well as reviews policies/handbooks that apply to students. Burton said the expanding role of ombuds across higher education is something she expects to continue.

“One of the other key roles of ombuds is to look at systemic trends and concerns and recommend potential solutions to our organizations,” she said. “We are a confidential, neutral, independent and informal resource that can help provide an objective lens to a situation and options, especially as it relates to fairness, equity and due process.”

MSU’s Office of the University Ombudsperson was one of the first offices of its kind in higher education and remains the longest continuously operating college or university ombudsperson office in the country. For more info about the office and available resources, go to ombud.msu.edu.