Building an Ombuds Office

building an ombuds office: a guide for institutions

Revised Date: September 20, 2025

Supporting Fairness, Trust, and Accountability on Campus

Creating an Ombuds office is a meaningful step toward strengthening fairness and accountability within a post-secondary institution. An Ombuds office is most effective when it is built on a foundation of credibility, independence, and community trust. The process of establishing such an office: defining its structure, setting its mandate, and hiring staff, plays a crucial role in ensuring its long-term success.

Why Create an Ombuds Office?

Institutions typically establish an Ombuds office for one of the following reasons:

A conflict arises that could have been resolved more constructively—or prevented—through the presence of an Ombuds office (e.g., Concordia University).
A campus group identifies the need for independent, impartial support (e.g., University of Western Ontario Student Society).
An administrator recognizes the value of the Ombuds role and champions the idea.
Leaders learn from the experiences of other institutions with Ombuds offices, through professional networks and shared practices.

Building Agreement Across the Institution

The proposal to establish an Ombuds office often begins with an individual or group raising the idea and engaging others in discussion. To succeed, the process should:

Consult widely with students, faculty, and staff.
Prepare a draft proposal outlining the essential characteristics of an Ombuds office—independence, confidentiality, and impartiality. The proposal may also include examples of existing offices at comparable institutions and testimonials about the benefits of Ombuds services.
Engage external expertise by inviting Ombudspersons from other institutions to meet with campus leaders.
Participate in ACCUO events, such as the annual conference, to gather insights before finalizing a proposal.

The proposal should clearly define who will have access to the Ombuds office and the scope of issues it will address. Since every institution has its own culture, discussions will unfold differently. If timing or resources present challenges, it may be necessary to focus first on improving communication and revisit the proposal at a more favorable moment.

The Value of an Ombuds Office

Provides an accessible and impartial avenue for resolving complaints
Prevents conflicts from escalating, saving time and resources
Demonstrates an institution’s commitment to equity, justice, and respect
Builds trust by addressing systemic issues and strengthening accountability

Defining the Mandate and Regulations

Most institutions prefer to establish rules and a mandate before hiring Ombuds staff. Three common approaches include:

Forming a representative committee to draft a mandate and regulations.
Adapting models from other institutions or using ACCUO’s Developing Terms of Reference for the Ombuds resource.
Hiring the Ombudsperson first, with the initial responsibility of drafting the office’s mandate and regulations.

Whichever method is chosen, the regulations should:

Affirm independence, impartiality, and confidentiality.
Specify reporting structures that protect the Ombuds office’s credibility.
Include a review period to ensure the mandate remains relevant.

Ensuring Independence

Independence is essential to impartiality and credibility. Institutions should:

Locate the office in a neutral and visible space, separate from administrative units.
Secure funding collaboratively (e.g., shared between student fees and institutional funds).
Provide adequate resources so the Ombuds office can make independent decisions, seek legal advice, and pursue professional development.
Establish reporting lines to a governing board or representative committee, while keeping case work free from administrative interference.
Guarantee access to institutional records and individuals necessary for the Ombudsperson to fulfill their role.

Staff and Hiring

Most university and college ombuds offices start with one or two people, or even a part-time staff member. Consider the number of people who will be accessing the ombudsman's services. Consult with ACCUO members whose offices serve similarly sized campuses to determine an appropriate level of service. Also consider the tasks involved in establishing the office. Your new ombudsperson won't be able to simply wait for calls, visits, and emails. They will need to create publicity materials—brochures, posters, websites, etc.—and will likely need to discuss their services with a number of individuals and groups. Finally, they will need to meet with individuals such as the student association president, the registrar, deans, department heads, the head of counseling services, union presidents, etc. to introduce themselves and explain the role of the office.

Hire internally? There are advantages to hiring internally. The person chosen will already be familiar with the institution, at least to some extent. And this person may already enjoy the respect of the community. Université Laval began by hiring respected and experienced members of the faculty as ombudspersons.

Hire externally? An outsider will become familiar with the institution once hired, avoiding any conflict between the ombudsperson role and any other past or present role the individual has held within the institution. This can reinforce the ombudspersons' office's image of independence and impartiality.

Tools for New Ombudspersons

New offices and Ombudspersons benefit from guides, professional networks, and resources like the ACCUO Ombuds Toolkit—a practical starting point for navigating the role.

Contact Us

For guidance on establishing an Ombuds office, or to connect with experienced practitioners, contact: info@accuo.ca