FAQs

What is an Ombudsperson? An Ombudsperson acts as an independent, confidential and impartial facilitator and problem solver. The Caltech Ombudsperson assists members of the Caltech community who are having an intracampus problem. She listens, investigates, and seeks to mediate and resolve complaints and grievances concerning Institute policies, procedures, practices, or decisions. She provides and receives information, helps people develop options, assists persons to help themselves, works with disputants as an informal mediator, provides "shuttle-diplomacy," and makes referrals as necessary.

The Ombudsperson works toward the betterment of the campus as well. She reports trends and pervasive problems to appropriate members of the community with the hope/expectation that they will be remedied.

What an Ombudsperson is not. The Ombudsperson is not a decision-maker nor is the Ombuds office a place "of record," since no files or case reports are kept on visitors to the office. Reporting a concern to the Ombuds office does not constitute legal notice to the Institute. An Ombudsperson does not do formal investigations or participate in formal procedures at the Institute. She does not act as an advocate for a person, but advocates for fairness. In addition, she does not represent any officials of the Institute.

What kind of help can I get from the Ombuds Office? The Ombudsperson keeps the confidences and identities of the people who consult with her, and will not pass on any kind of information to anyone else without express written permission to do so, except to the extent required by law. (The office is legally obligated to report "danger to self and others.")

The Ombudsperson listens to visitors in a supportive and nonjudgmental manner. In many cases, a visitor wants only to "be heard " by a respectful and impartial person. This process often helps the visitor put a problem into perspective, and to deal with anger, fear or uncertainty. Allowing people to unburden themselves in a place where there is no judgement made regarding any behavior allows visitors to regain their own problem solving skills.

The Ombudsperson helps to reframe issues and develop options. Often people come to the office believing that they have no options. The Ombudsperson helps by identifying or developing new perspectives and by describing additional, responsible and hopefully, effective action.

A visit to the Ombuds office often helps people help themselves. Through discussion and support, visitors often feel empowered to approach the perceived source of the problem with skills that will help to get the situation resolved.

"Looking into a particular problem" is yet another way in which the Ombudsperson may be helpful. In general, she has access to almost all of the data kept by the Institute and can report back informational data to the inquirer. This is helpful if the visitor does not want to be identified as wanting/needing the information or does not have this access. For example, someone might wonder if particular information resides in his/her official file. The Ombudsperson can access the file and bring back an answer to the query.

Many Caltech visitors appreciate the generic approach to getting problems resolved. Using this approach, the issue is surfaced, not the complainant. A good example of this approach is in the area of sexual harassment. A student or students report a faculty member who is creating a "hostile learning environment" by using sexist comments, inappropriate cartoons, hugging particular student(s), etc. The generic approach to this issue is for the Ombudsperson to call the Division Chair and suggest that he/she re-distribute the Caltech Sexual Harassment policy to all faculty members, and to take advantage of the next faculty meeting to explain the issues involved in perceived sexual harassment. In this way, the issue is raised, the complainant(s) remain anonymous.

Some issues are best resolved by way of a facilitated discussion between those in conflict. Many people feel that they will be retaliated against if they bring up a problem to their supervisor, advisor, teacher, etc., and want to have this discussion in a safe, neutral environment. This can be done in the Ombuds office. The rules governing such discussion are that we are here to resolve an existing problem and that there will be no retaliation or disciplinary action taken because of this conversation. At times this is done with groups as well. Facilitated discussions are followed up after a mutually decided upon time to make sure that things are proceeding according to plan.

Another tool of the Ombuds is informal third-party intervention and shuttle diplomacy. A visitor may choose to ask a third party to be a shuttle diplomat -- to go back and forth between A and B or bring A and B together informally to resolve a problem. The third party could be the Ombudsperson, or we can brainstorm as to who else could serve best in that role. This approach is also known as informal mediation. Formal mediation is also available from the Ombuds office.

There are many situations that need a follow-through, by either the Ombudsperson or the visitor. This is important to assure that the problem or issue is indeed being resolved, or on its way to resolution. When a visitor leaves the office, there is some plan that is mutually decided regarding who will get back in touch for a "progress report." In some cases, we need to resort to "option B" or brainstorm other avenues of approach.

The Ombudsperson also works to facilitate systems change. Work is done with staff, students, and Administrators to improve supervision, human services, and conflict management systems on campus. This can take the form of recommendations, training, pilot programs, etc.

The Ombudsperson also alerts the Administration to problems new to the campus, or newly uncovered. This "heads-up" NEVER reveals the personal identities of the information, if there are any. Many times the Ombudsperson sees a trend of issues because of the nature of the office and will funnel information of this trend to the appropriate places that can investigate, discuss and change policy.

Who can use the Ombuds office? The Ombuds office is available to all members of the Caltech community - students, post-doctoral fellows, staff, and faculty.

To whom does the Ombudsperson report, and what is reported? The Ombudsperson sends yearly reports to the Administration and other managers on campus. This report is strictly demographic and aggregated; individuals are never identified.

If the Ombudsperson is outside of the official channels of the Institute, who pays the Ombud's salary? The Ombudsperson is paid by the Institute to be informal, objective, and neutral in the resolution of problems and grievances. By working outside the official channels of the Institute, issues can be brought to the office without triggering a formal investigation, such as sexual harassment issues.

Since the Ombudsperson is actually employed by the Institute, is the Ombuds, then, more responsive to the needs of managers, tenured faculty or Administrators? The Ombudsperson is an advocate for fairness. No sides are taken and no opinions are rendered as to who is "right or wrong." The Ombudsperson works to deliver the most informed options as possible to get the problem or grievance resolved.

What are the range of issues dealt with in the Ombuds office? People bring a wide spectrum of concerns to the office, ranging from interpersonal misunderstandings to whistle-blowing, harassment, discrimination, issues with advisors and/or supervisors, perceived illegal behavior, etc. Some people do not want to take any action, or have action taken to remedy the situation, but do want a safe place to "vent," while others are eager to explore as many options as possible. Some people are interested only in specific information about a rule, law or policy.

There are several resources on campus for help in resolving issues. Where should I go first? You are correct, there are many resources to turn to for help. Caltech wants people to have several avenues in which to pursue problem resolution. Some people choose to come to the Ombuds office as a first stop, some come as a last resort. Some people use the Ombuds office as a place to "pull their thoughts together" before tackling their problem. Some come because they are "stuck", and perceive that there is no way out of their situation. Others hope that the Ombudsperson will be able to untangle the "whatevers" they are enmeshed in.

I have seen the Ombudsperson in the Deans ' offices, Division Chairs' offices, Human Resources, etc. If this office is so confidential, what is Ombuds doing in those "official" places? If the Ombudsperson is addressing an issue brought by a visitor, it is with the visitor's written permission that the Ombuds is taking a problem forward to another office for help in achieving a resolution. It could be to consult about some issue with others on the campus in a "generic" way. The Ombudsperson also sits on different committees on campus, but always as either a consultant or ex-officio member, so that the Ombuds remains neutral on the issue at hand.

I have some (personal, health-related, disability) problems that are causing me to have poor work performance lately. Can I go to the Ombuds office for this? Yes, you can. The Ombudsperson will help you sort out the issues and help develop a plan of action for you to take with your (supervisor, advisor, and professor). The Ombuds might also make a referral to other resources on campus, such as the Counseling Center, the Staff/Faculty Consultation Center, Human Resources, Student Affairs, etc.

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