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Ombuds Principles

The Coastal Carolina University Ombuds adheres to the principles listed below and the Standards of Practice of the International Ombudsman Association (IOA), its Code of Ethics and Best Practices. (http://www.ombudsassociation.org)

INFORMATION

INDEPENDENCE 
The Ombuds is independent in structure, function, and appearance to the highest degree possible within the organization. At Coastal Carolina University, the ombuds organizationally reports to the Provost.

NEUTRALITY AND IMPARTIALITY 
The Ombuds as a designated neutral, remains unaligned and impartial. The Ombuds does not engage in any situation which could create a conflict of interest.

CONFIDENTIALITY 
The Ombuds holds all communications with those seeking assistance in strict confidence, and does not disclose confidential communications unless given permission to do so. The only exception to this privilege of confidentiality is where there appears to be imminent risk of serious harm. At Coastal Carolina University, the ombuds keeps no paperwork except aggregate statistics that identify the type of concerns raised, trends or patterns of issues and time expended for annual reporting purposes. (See Ombuds Reports on this site.) All efforts are made to safeguard the identity of individuals.

INFORMALITY 
The Ombuds, as an informal resource, does not participate in any formal adjudicative or administrative procedure related to concerns brought to his/her attention. In other words, meeting with the ombuds does not constitute a formal complaint or grievance that puts the university "on notice." If the concern raised with the ombuds later becomes a formal process, then the ombuds does not participate in any of those formal proceedings.