Frequently asked questions

The Student Ombudsman defends and promotes the rights and legitimate interests of students, namely the right to receive a quality, efficient and respectful public service in all the areas in which the university provides it: social support, administrative, teaching/learning process and research.

Communications or messages from students may concern the action or lack of action of staff or teaching staff, all bodies and services of the University, organic units and Social Services, whenever, in the opinion of the person reporting them, a legitimate right or interest of that person or of part or all students of the University is at stake.

The Student Ombudsman is independent in the exercise of his functions both in relation to the bodies and services of the University and its Organic Units, and in relation to external public or private entities.

Students may send their communication or message individually or collectively. If the communication is collective, one of the students should be indicated as spokesperson to facilitate the contact with the Ombudsman.

Students can make participations, complaints, petitions or suggestions about pedagogical, social action or administrative matters, due to action or omission of the bodies and services of the University and its Faculties. They can also make enquiries about how to seek support within their course, organic unit or service and can praise behaviour they consider exceptional in their relationship with staff or faculty members.

Yes. However, the communication to the Student Ombudsman should only be made after exhausting the possibilities that the organic unit's organization has foreseen for the resolution of the pedagogical or administrative problems.

The Student Ombudsman is appointed by the General Council, on the Rector's proposal, after hearing the Senate and the Coimbra Students' Union, for a 3-year term of office, renewable for one more.

In order to guarantee his/her independence, the Student Ombudsman cannot perform any other functions in the bodies or services of the University, or of its Faculties and other organic units.

The Student Ombudsman assesses the content of the messages submitted to him/her by the students, investigating the facts if necessary and, if justified, drawing up conclusions and issuing recommendations, proposing to the Rector the measures to be taken, either by him/herself or by other bodies and services of the University, its Faculties and other organic units, in order to prevent or repair illegal, unfair or simply irregular situations. Moreover, based on the analysis of the questions submitted to him/her, the Student Ombudsman may issue opinions and recommendations about actions to be developed and measures to be taken in terms of the statutes and regulations in force, in order to improve the degree of satisfaction of the legitimate rights and interests of the University students.

The recommendations, opinions and reports resulting from the functions of the Student Ombudsman are always communicated to the bodies, the people in charge of the services and the ones about whom the complaints, petitions and reports have been filed.

The Student Ombudsman may directly summon the parties involved in a specific situation, or related to it, to hearings that he/she considers necessary in each case, and to take the necessary steps to ascertain the facts related to it. Moreover, when justified, the Student Ombudsman shall also hear the Associação Académica de Coimbra and/or the representative organisations of the students of each Faculty.

No! Students have to identify themselves and provide information that allows the Ombudsman to contact them, either to establish the facts or to send final conclusions. However, students can opt for an open use of their data or for confidentiality. In the first case, personal data will be used if necessary and in the second case it will only be accessible within the Ombudsman's office.

During fact-finding it may be advantageous to use the identity of the declarant. If this is the case and the declarant has opted for confidentiality it is possible that, in order to protect this confidentiality, the file may have to be closed.

The Student Ombudsman and collaborators are subject to a duty of confidentiality, under the terms of the law, regarding information related to privacy and intimacy. In addition, the Student Ombudsman is responsible for the processing, under the terms of the applicable law, of the data communicated to him/her in the scope of the performance of his/her activity, namely those related to the respective processing and filing.

No! The identity of the persons involved, claimant or target of the claim, should be protected. Thus, in all public written documents, such as the annual report presented to the Rector, which is then submitted to the General Council, all information that could harm the privacy of those involved in the processes shall be excluded.

All the bodies and services of the University and its organic units have the duty to collaborate with the Student Ombudsman, namely by providing information promptly and punctually and by delivering the requested documents, in order to ensure the proper performance of his/her functions.

All the bodies and services of the University and its organic units have the duty to collaborate with the Student Ombudsman, namely by providing information promptly and punctually and by delivering the requested documents, in order to ensure the proper performance of his/her functions.

The Student Ombudsman acts upon communications submitted by the students or on his/her own initiative concerning facts that, by any credible means, come to his/her knowledge.

No! When the Student Ombudsman - in light of the provisions set forth in the Legal Framework of Higher Education Institutions, in the Statutes of the University of Coimbra, in the Statutes of each Faculty and in the services' regulations - considers that the complainant has a grace or judicial means within his/her reach, he/she may simply forward the complaint to the competent entity. Furthermore, the Student Ombudsman shall reject outright any complaints, petitions, and participations that, in his/her opinion, are presented in clear bad faith or that prove to be unfounded.

Communications may be made in writing (by email or post) or orally. In the latter case, they must be put in writing and signed by the declarant.

The Student Ombudsman may request any organ of the University, the Faculties and other organic units, and the services, to provide the information deemed necessary to establish facts relevant for the investigation. Moreover, through the hierarchically competent bodies, he/she may request the presence, of any faculty or non-teaching staff member for a hearing. He/she may likewise request information from the Coimbra Students' Union (Associação Académica de Coimbra), from the student representative organizations of each Faculty, as well as from the student(s) interested or related with the case under appraisal, and may request their presence for a hearing.

In the case of a faculty member, a student, or a non-teaching staff member, the Student Ombudsman shall inform the hierarchically competent bodies, which will assess the justification or disciplinary relevance of the respective conduct. In the case of the student or students concerned, the absence or refusal to provide information determines the closure of the complaint, petition or participation.

When the Student Ombudsman concludes that the complaint, petition, or participation is unfounded or that there are not enough elements to adopt any procedure, when the illegality, injustice, or irregularity invoked has already been remedied, or when the reporting student(s) refuse(s) to provide information during the fact-finding procedure. In less serious cases, provided they are not recurrent, the Student Ombudsman shall send an information to the competent body or service, and may determine the closure of the matter in accordance with the explanations provided.

No! Before drawing any conclusions, the Student Ombudsman shall hear the bodies, faculty and non-teaching staff members in relation to whom the complaint or the petition or the participation was filed, allowing them to exercise their right to provide, in due time, all the necessary clarifications.

What should the Student Ombudsman do if, during the course of a procedure, there are indications of the commission of infractions that may have disciplinary or criminal relevance?

The Student Ombudsman should report the evidence to the University bodies with disciplinary competence, in the first case, or communicate it to the Public Prosecutor's Office, in the second case.

Yes, according to the Regulation of the Student Ombudsman of the University of Coimbra, the Student Ombudsman can be the object of a complaint.