EDITORIAL: Utilize and visit the CMU Ombuds Office
You believe your professor treats you unfairly. You work incredibly hard on a project and get knocked down on points for things you believe you did correctly. Your professor won’t hear you out. What do you do?
Lucky for Central Michigan University students, we have a resource on campus to help you be heard.
The Student Ombuds Office an informational resource available to online, global and main campus members of CMU to provide impartial and confidential support for student-related matters.
Ombuds by definition is “someone who helps people to informally resolve conflict by facilitating communication to help all parties reach mutually satisfactory solutions.” The office at CMU serves as a third-party, neutral resource for students’ concerns to be heard.
Many students don’t know about the Ombuds Office. It’s something we should be using, but most probably don’t even know it’s been a full-time resource since December 2016.
Ombudsperson Erica Peters said that visitors mainly want to discuss faculty and staff behavior, service quality and university procedures on academic integrity, grade grievances and course drop and withdrawal policy.
The office helps students understand policies and procedures. It’s a helping hand when things get tricky with our classes or track to graduation.
Ombuds is here to help and students should understand what it's there for.
The office is located in Ronan Hall, Room 220. Ombuds is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. To make an appointment students need to call or email the office at (989) 774-3010, or ombuds@cmich.edu. More information can be found on its website at cmich.edu/ess/ombuds.
This resource might come to use in the coming weeks as finals approach. Take advantage of it.
