The prevention and resolution of student complaints are critical factors in maintaining and improving the student experience. Rob Behrens looks at the wider context, drawing on lessons from beyond higher education, to examine the opportunities and possible pitfalls.

This report of the Ombudsman at Cornell University discusses: the composition of the staff; the volume of work; the sources of the complaints (the office serves the whole University community); the classification of complaints by subject, and source of complaints by College or Agency; the procedures used in handling the complaints; the types of…

This report by the campus ombudsman at San Diego State College discusses in the preface some ways of approaching the position and the elements to be included in prospective job descriptions. The report begins with a description of the kind of person needed for such a position, how to establish the office and choose the man, the type of office…

The office of Ombudsman at San Jose State College was created as a response to a series of demonstrations by the black community protesting discrimination experienced on and around campus. The Ombudsman was to "search out and facilitate the removal of discrimination of the basis of race, creed, or national origin" wherever it occurred.…

Calls attention to a process of social negotiation in specific contexts between the distressed person and those with whom he/she is involved that shapes the way troublesome events are progressively understood. (Author/AM)