Student Ombudsman on mediation and more
A conversation with Marta Bakun, the Student Ombudsman of the University of Wrocław
What are your tasks as a Student Ombudsman?
Marta Bakun: – The Student Ombudsman is an institution which has existed in our university for 10 years now, and this year, we celebrate its anniversary. The scope of my tasks is, on the one hand, limited by management, but on the other hand, I feel like the only thing limiting us is the reality. These cases might seem trivial upon the first glance; pointing out to the correct provisions of the university’s regulations, or resolving issues with private agreements between students and professors, more specifically underlining that not everything that happens at our university falls under its jurisdiction.
So, would it be correct to say that you handle everything?
– Yes, I guess I’m a jack of all trades.
The students can ask you about any problem then?
– Of course, every issue. And if I don’t turn out to be the right person, I can happily point towards people who can handle it. I am very glad that so many students approach me with problems they don’t know how to solve. Despite many existing university institutions, such as the Student Ombudsman or the Anti-discrimination Ombudsman, a lot of students feel too embarrassed to ask for help. Hence, students can also contact me via e-mail.
Our conversation is a part of the project about academic mediation, so there is one specific, rather unpleasant topic I’d like to concentrate on. As it falls under your care, could you tell me about some of the difficult situations that students deal with? What conflicts do you have to diffuse?
–I’d divide these issues into two categories: cases related to study regulations and cases that go totally beyond them.The regulations cases are rather standard; syllabus misunderstandings, failing an exam, or student dissatisfactions.
What about the cases that go beyond regulations? I imagine there’s a lot of them, but could you give some examples?
– Among the issues not covered by the regulations, which happen right now and are faced by the entire university community, are the matters of gender transition and cessation of using the pre-transition deadname listed in the USOS system. We currently live in a period full of these changes, which occur on a daily basis. Why do I mention that? As a woman, while studying I kept hearing professors making comments suggesting that I, a woman, should reconsider my field of study and drop law. Nowadays, it is unacceptable. Still, despite the progress, we should keep striving towards improving the quality of dialogue, as shown by events such as the student strike in support of Palestine.
I’m familiar with a similar story to yours. Among tens of students, there was only one woman. The professor would enter the class, saying, “Good morning, gentleman,” while she was sitting in the front row. These are certainly challenges. What about conflicts between students? Do you also intervene?
– Yes. Last year, there was a self-appointed student representative, wishing to dominate the faculty, however was met with resistance from the student body.
An interesting story, despite how short it was. Is there any room for mediation in issues you encounter? If that possibility exists, what kind of conflicts would it be suitable for? When do you think mediation would be useful?
– I could provide a simple, legal answer by saying that it depends and answer the question, but I’d rather explain it thoroughly. Mediation, according to the regulations, is a part of my work, but not everything can be mediated. Here arises the question of whether something is suitable for mediation which isn’t solely a matter of regulations; if someone breaks the regulations, it’s clear that there is no room for discussion. However, a room for discussion and mediation exists when we think about the possible solutions for that situation. For example, the cases of failed subjects, or conditions that arise rather from the established personal preferences than a syllabus. When a mediator gets involved, some might wonder if the conditions were adhered to the regulations or if they should have been presented to students at all. After that, a thought arises, that maybe they went too far. And here, we have a possibility of fixing the situation. I had the pleasure of working with a group of fifth-year students, who were aware that they won’t change anything for themselves, but could make lives easier for future students. Again, mediation would help here, but the case went over to the senate ethic committee. We also can’t forget that the university is an administrative institution, so when two unequal parties come into play, an equal mediation isn’t always possible. Moreover, a will to have a conversation sometimes is not enough. When the dialogue is initiated from the position of authority, achieving good mediation is a daunting task. The word “mediation” is neutral, so it is difficult to divide mediation into good or bad. However, a willingness to come to an agreement always makes me happy, even if sadly sometimes it’s not enough. At times you need more. I have to admit that I have been serving this role for over a year…
And it still isn’t getting easier?
– It’s hard, but I am glad to have students’ trust. They come to me with various problems; personal problems, family problems, and the recent flood also caused a lot of issues. Students also ask me for guidance in finding their career path. Nowadays, students have many opportunities but also many challenges.
You mentioned that mediation is a good way to solve conflicts. How many requests for mediation have you received, and what distinguished them? How does the university’s mediation offer look for students?
– Last year, I received 81 cases from every faculty. I know because I’ve been keeping statistics. For comparison, from September to today, I’ve received 21 cases, many of them completely new for me or for the faculty they happened in. First and foremost, my role is to mediate between students and academic staff, because the ombudsman supports the students. I work with undergraduate and master’s students, but I notice a growing need for a doctorate ombudsperson, since that position is yet to exist in our university. The employees also approach me to mediate disputes between them and their superiors, like faculty heads or institute directors. Unfortunately, I have no power to do so under current regulations. Another gap worth addressing.
Based on your experience and role, can you list the biggest advantages of mediation to solve problems in the academic community? We already know that there’s a need for that and that you’re doing a great job, but if you could try to convince those students still not convinced about mediation?
– The first advantage is that one can look at their situation outside their comfort zone and look at it from another perspective. I’ve noticed that even when students describe their cases to me through writing, instead of spoken conversation, the act of writing allows for some time for self-reflection. And when another person’s thoughts and feelings are involved, where it might’ve looked like our truth was the absolute one, we pause. During these meetings, it becomes easy to notice how necessary this meeting was. Very often, it wasn’t even about the issue at hand, but the bottled emotions on both sides. This is a very underrated quality of academic mediation. The second advantage is speed, since we live in a fast-paced world, the mediation also wastes no time and instead of waiting a month for the verdict, the issues can be addressed immediately.
If someone feels convinced and is in a tough situation, can they ask you if their problem is suitable for mediation? Can they ask you to be the mediator for them?
– Many questions aren’t really suitable for me, but rather for the year’s coordinator or the dean’s office. These are the questions regarding extending student ID or such. That’s why, for the second year now, we’ve been running training sessions about student rights and responsibilities. Many of these cases stem from the lack of orientation at our university, but I’m there to respond, help and guide. If I can be that compass, I encourage everyone to come to me for guidance.
And you’ll mediate?
– Yes, I’ll mediate. You can approach me with any request, I sometimes enter some difficult situations on my own to stop the conflict’s escalation and convince both sides to discuss the problem. Sometimes, one side is unaware of the issue, for example, the dean for student affairs might not know about the issue. I know of students who bottled a problem inside for a year. This problem has been sprouting and blooming inside for years, and nobody even knows of its existence. Hence, I encourage everyone to reach out, even if you think your problem is minor.
Thank you for your conversation. Finally, I want to add that I’m not surprised with your amount of work and the sheer number of people who reach out to you, including academic employees, because that conversation was very pleasant. I’m very thankful for it and I’m glad that someone like you is bearing this role at our university. I’m conflicted about whether to wish you more or less work, given these impressive numbers of the cases you tackle. I don’t know how it reflects upon our academic community, but let’s say it does reflect positively, because if there’s room for compromise, there’s room for mediation and support from people like you. Even if it isn’t perfect, you’re still striving to improve it so it can meet the needs of the entire academic community, and not only the students. I wish you the best of luck.
– Thank you, so far I’m a one-person team, but you never know what the future might bring. I encourage everyone to reach out and I’m grateful for your trust.
Conducted by dr Katarzyna Zalas-Kamińska, Dean’s Representative for Promotion and Media Relations at the Faculty of Social Sciences
The conversation is available in audio form here.
Added by E.K.
21.11.2024
Translated by Sebastian Halczyk (student of English Studies at the University of Wrocław) as part of the translation practice.
