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Office of the Ombuds Ombuds
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Services for Individuals 

The Office of the Ombuds offers one-on-one consultations to all members of the UCSD community.  These private, confidential meetings allow our visitors time and space to discuss sensitive concerns and develop effective strategies for managing and resolving conflict.  

What to Expect

When you meet with one of our ombudspersons, they will first review our standards of practice with you.  They will explain that the visit is confidential and that any information you convey will be held in strict confidence (except in cases of imminent risk of harm) and does not impute notice to the University. The ombudsperson will explain their role as a neutral, not an advocate.

You will have an opportunity to consult with the ombudsperson and to describe in your own words the situation as you see it. The ombudsperson will provide a safe forum to voice your concerns, evaluate your situation, and help you to organize your thoughts, assess your options, and decide on what is most important and relevant for your specific circumstance.

Our goal is to help empower you to make informed decisions based on your individual needs and, when appropriate, prepare you to manage conflict with others.   Some ways we do this:

  • Issue identification and clarification
  • Facilitating communication between you and others
  • Discussing options for further informal or formal channels

If appropriate, the ombudsperson may refer you to another office. You will select the options that you prefer. Some issues can be addressed quickly and resolved within a very short period of time within days or a couple of weeks. Other issues may take much longer (up to several months), and require many steps to reach a long-term equitable solution for all parties.

Please be sure to bring any relevant documents with you to your appointment with the ombudsperson.  It also sometimes helps to sketch out a timeline of events if the situation has been going on for a long period of time.  These tools may help you to have a more productive meeting in the ombuds office so your time with us will be well spent.