Bill Text: HI SCR67 | 2016 | Regular Session | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Ombuds Office; University of Hawaii

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 15-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-03-08 - Referred to HEA, WAM. [SCR67 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2016-SCR67-Introduced.html

---

THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	67
TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2016
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

urging the university of hawaii to establish an ombuds office or system of ombuds offices.

 

 

     WHEREAS, there are approximately 55,000 part and full-time undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in the University of Hawaii System; and

 

     WHEREAS, the University of Hawaii's ten campuses do not have ombuds offices; and

 

     WHEREAS, the University of Hawaii has offices on each campus and at the system level that reflect a commitment to promoting a safe, nonviolent, non-discriminatory community, however those offices focus solely on concerns related to discrimination; and

 

     WHEREAS, each University of Hawaii campus has established academic grievance policies and procedures that also focus primarily on discrimination and academic concerns; and

 

     WHEREAS, an institutional exclusion of workplace concerns not relating to discrimination exists, in policy and organizationally, which fosters an environment in which problems may go unheard, untracked, and unresolved; and

 

     WHEREAS, ombuds offices provide an easy first point of contact for a person with concerns or a misunderstanding of policies, as well as directing someone to an appropriate office or assisting them with following established procedures and timelines for complaints; and

 

     WHEREAS, ombuds offices provide university chancellors and presidents unbiased, routine feedback regarding the university community's adherence to established policies; and

 

     WHEREAS, eighty percent of "research one" universities have an ombuds office, and all but one of the University of Hawaii at Manoa's peer institutions have ombuds offices; and

 

     WHEREAS, legislation was introduced during the Regular Session of 2015 that sought to establish an office of the ombuds at the University of Hawaii, and support for the legislation indicates a growing desire for the establishment of ombuds offices on every campus; and

 

     WHEREAS, a system of ombuds offices can be established without duplicating or undermining preexisting resolution procedures; and

 

     WHEREAS, ombuds offices must be independent, impartial, and confidential in order to best serve students, staff, and faculty; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2016, the House of Representatives concurring, that the University of Hawaii Board of Regents is urged to establish a system-coordinated ombuds office with an accessible specialist on the Manoa campus; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the other University of Hawaii campuses should have access to the specialist at the Manoa campus; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the ombuds office report directly to the chancellors of each campus and the president of the University of Hawaii; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board of Regents use the United States Ombudsman Association's published standards as a guide to establishing the ombuds office or offices; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that all applicable policies and procedures be updated to include workplace related concerns not pertaining to discrimination as a valid reason for seeking redress; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the ombuds office or offices be adequately resourced and financed as part of the University's base budget to ensure permanence; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board of Regents seek feedback from each college campus to determine the composition and establishment of ombuds personnel and offices; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, because changes affecting the University's budget take time, the Board of Regents may appoint interim officials to act in the capacity of ombudspersons but interim appointments should be no longer than one calendar year; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the University of Hawaii Board of Regents, President of the University of Hawaii, University of Hawaii Vice President for Community Colleges, University of Hawaii at Manoa Interim Chancellor, University of Hawaii at Hilo Chancellor, University of Hawaii West Oahu Chancellor, University of Hawaii Community College Chancellor, University of Hawaii Honolulu Community College Chancellor, University of Hawaii Kapiolani Community College Chancellor, University of Hawaii Kauai Community College Chancellor, University of Hawaii Leeward Community College Chancellor, University of Hawaii Maui College Chancellor, and University of Hawaii Windward Community College Chancellor.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Ombuds Office; University of Hawaii