What is the Ombuds Office?

The Iowa State University Ombuds Office is a confidential, independent, neutral resource you can use to informally work through challenges you might be facing in the workplace or at school – with colleagues or supervisors, major professors, or policies and procedures. Think of the Ombuds Office as a confidential help desk. When you share your concerns with the Ombuds Officer, they can usually provide you with a range of information, assistance, options and resources to help you more clearly understand or even resolve your concerns. You then decide what course of action is best for you.

The Ombuds Office is an independent unit that is charged with providing service that is not biased towards any particular group, be it management or employee, supervisor or subordinate, student or faculty. Furthermore, this independence enables the Ombuds Officer to look at an issue with a fresh, neutral perspective and provide parties with a candid assessment of their situation.