Office of the Ombuds | Montgomery College, Maryland

Welcome to the Montgomery College Office of the Ombuds. The Office of the Ombuds provides a safe and confidential place where all Montgomery College employees – staff, faculty, administrators, temporary employees, and student employees – can voluntarily seek free guidance or assistance in resolving workplace disputes or concerns.

The Office of the Ombuds is an independent, neutral and impartial, confidential, and informal resource that employees may access without fear of retaliation or loss of privacy.

The Office of the Ombuds assists employees by providing information and collaboratively developing strategies and options that address concerns or challenges in productive and positive ways.

The Office of the Ombuds can help employees by:

Providing a safe, confidential, and nonjudgmental forum to surface individual, group and systemic problems
Listening to and helping clarify employee concerns
Helping an employee identify underlying issues and interests
Providing information and exploring possible options available to the employee
Aiding an employee in deciding for himself/herself which option (including doing nothing more) is the best option for him/her to pursue
Coaching an employee on how to deal with the problem directly
Where voluntarily agreed to by all involved parties, facilitating discussions to resolve issues, if appropriate
Collecting general data on emerging trends and patterns at the College that give rise to conflict
Evaluating and analyzing trending information and making systemic recommendations for positive changes in policy or practice

The Office of the Ombuds looks forward to hearing from you whether your issue is big or small, new or ongoing, or anywhere in between. Inquiries will be responded to within two business days.

The Office of the Ombuds operates in accordance with the International Ombudsman Association (IOA) Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice. As such, the Office of the Ombuds functions independently with respect to issue handling and management, reporting to the Office of the President for administrative and budgetary purposes only. Moreover, while the ombuds is an advocate for fair process and good communication, the ombuds does *not* advocate on behalf of employees, the College, or for a particular outcome or perspective. In addition, ombuds services are informal and supplement and complement the work of other offices; the services do not replace any formal processes and the Office of the Ombuds is not responsible for administering any Montgomery College programs or processes. In keeping with this notion, the Office of the Ombuds is not affiliated with any compliance function of the College and therefore does not serve as an agent of notice for the College.

International Ombuds Association

Operating Principles and Guidelines

IOA Code of Ethics (PDF, )
IOA Standards of Practice (PDF, )
IOA Uniform Reporting Categories (PDF, )