Mediation promotes better relationships through improved communication and constructive problem solving. Problems can be settled promptly. A session can be scheduled at a convenient location as soon as both parties agree to mediate. Mediation emphasizes taking personal responsibility for resolving conflict. A mediator facilitates the process to assist the parties in reaching an agreement, but does not make any decisions for them.
Mediation is informal and free to all students, faculty and staff members on campus.
Contact the Office of the Ombudsperson to request mediation. Educational settings create a definable community with clear boundaries and shared social norms. Educational settings create numerous situations in which a high density of people, often from very different backgrounds, are required to interact frequently and interdependently, thereby creating both conflict situations and the need to resolve them. Educational settings are learning environments where students experiencing conflict can learn skills from the mediation process that they might not learn elsewhere and which may be useful to them throughout their lives.