Our Core Principles

Four key principles guide our Office:

Confidentiality

Independence

Informality

Neutrality

We are confidential
We are independent
We are informal
We are neutral

We are confidential

We will not identify you or discuss your concerns with anyone without your permission.

The only exceptions to this pledge of confidentiality are when the Ombuds determines that there is an imminent threat of harm or in the rare instance that the Ombuds is legally compelled to report the situation.

We are independent

We are independent of central administration and are not aligned with any campus department or group. We work hard to merit the trust others place in us.

We are informal

Any communication with us is “off the record”. The Ombuds Office is not authorized to receive official notice for MCW, and speaking with the Ombuds Office does not satisfy or trigger any deadlines used for more formal complaint mechanisms.

We are neutral

We do not take sides. We consider the rights and interests of all parties. We are advocates for good communication and fair process.

Standards of Practice

The MCW Ombuds Office functions according to the International Ombudsman Association (IOA) Standards of Practice (PDF) and the core values of independence, impartiality/neutrality, confidentiality and informality.

These Standards of Practice are based upon and derived from the ethical principles stated in the IOA Code of Ethics (PDF) and govern the way in which our office receives complaints, works to resolve issues and provides feedback to MCW when trends, patterns, policies or procedures generate concerns or conflicts.