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The University of Stellenbosch has decided to appoint an ombudsman who
acts totally independently and who, furthermore, is not on the payroll
of the University. In doing so, the University has created a channel
through which appropriate attention can be given to all problems and
complaints from students, the parents of students or personnel and
- which the existing University structures are unable
to deal with satisfactorily according to the normal channels,
or
- for which the existing structures are, for whatever
reason, inadequate, as apparent from sufficient motivation
presented by the complainant or complainants.
The discretion as to dealing with, or not
dealing with, such a complaint or problem, as well as the
discretion regarding the manner of dealing with it, will
lie exclusively with the ombudsman, with the understanding
---
- that the ombudsman will not disclose the identity of
any complainant without his/her permission, unless further
handling of the complaint or problem by the University's
structures requires such a disclosure;
- that the ombudsman will first refer a complainant to
the existing university structures if he or she is of
the opinion that the relevant channel through which complaints
are processed has not been adequately utilised;
- that the ombudsman may in all matters independently
obtain further information relating to the complaint
and/or problem, and that he or she may, with the consent
of the Rector, make use of the University's infrastructure
to obtain such information;
- that students' complaints related to purely academic
matters will normally not be handled by the ombudsman;
- that the ombudsman makes no final decision, but reports
his/her findings, in his or her absolute discretion,
as a recommendation to the Rector; and
- that under no circumstances will the ombudsman deal
with a complaint or problem that is already the subject
of a lawsuit.
Any person wanting to lodge a complaint
must first work through the normal university channels. If
after a reasonable period no satisfactory solution to the
problem is found, the ombudsman can be contacted.
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