UC Student Ombudsperson

The Student Ombudsman is a University body that aims to raise students' awareness of their right to get a quality, efficient and respectful public service and also to encourage them to participate in the improvement of this service through their personal commitment and critical thinking.

The office of the Student Ombudsman was created in 2007 by the Legal Regulation of Higher Education Institutions in 2007 and is in place at the University of Coimbra since 2009. It is a body without administrative, deliberative, executive or disciplinary purpose.

The main mission of the Student Ombudsman is to ensure the respect for the rights and legitimate interests of the students of the University of Coimbra, through an independent, impartial and confidential action.

When the Student Ombudsman becomes aware of a fact that might jeopardise those rights or legitimate interests, through communication from students, their representatives, or by any other credible means, he/she shall seek to gather substantiated evidence of such practices and to take the necessary steps to clarify or solve the problem, through formal and informal mediation with the various parties involved.

Furthermore, the Student Ombudsman should also recommend the necessary changes to improve the regulations and the services provided by the University, according to the messages conveyed individually or collectively by the students, or on his/her own initiative.

The duties of the Student Ombudsman are defined by the Regulation of the Student Ombudsman of the University of Coimbra.

The Ombudsman's Office is composed by the Student Ombudsman and by a Senior Technician, responsible for the administrative organization of the cases that get to the Office, as well as the necessary contacts to the instructive process, and by a Doctorate Researcher that supports the Ombudsman in the accomplishment of relevant studies in the scope of the Ombudsman's performance.

All the members of the Ombudsman's Office are subject to the DUTY OF SECRECY, under the terms of the law, in relation to information regarding the privacy of participants. (General Data Protection Regulation - RPGD).

The Student Ombudsman acts by receiving messages - queries, compliments, participations, complaints, petitions, suggestions - sent by the students of the University of Coimbra, without prejudice to the Ombudsman's own initiative.

Under the terms of the respective Regulation, it is the Ombudsman's duty, in the exercise of his/her functions:

a) To analyse the complaints, petitions and participations submitted to him/her by the students of the University, namely on pedagogical, academic or social action issues, and to issue recommendations on them;
b) To draw up reports on the investigations carried out and draw the respective conclusions, proposing to the Rector the measures to be taken, either by the Rector himself/herself or by other organs and services of the University, its Faculties and other organic units, to prevent or repair illegal, unjust or simply irregular situations;
c) To give its opinion on any matters related to its activity, on its own initiative or at the request of the Rector, the General Council, the Directors of Organic Units or the students' representative Associations;
d) Based on the analysis of the questions submitted, to issue opinions and make recommendations on actions to be developed and measures to be taken within the statutes and regulations in force, in order to improve the degree of satisfaction of the legitimate rights and interests of the University students.

When the Ombudsman receives messages from students or their representatives about the functioning of the University, he/she carries out the necessary investigation in order to verify the facts, in a coordinated way and in collaboration with the various organs and services of the University and its Organic Units.

According to the type of message received:

a) Seeks conciliatory solutions when justified and proposes alternative ways to solve problems;
b) Issues recommendations that reinforce the quality of the services provided and/or proposes amendments to the University Regulations that are contradictory or unclear;
c) Suggests, if deemed appropriate and within the framework of its mission, the elaboration of new regulations in order to improve the degree of satisfaction of the legitimate rights and interests of the University students;
d) Acts, if aware through any credible means, of actions or omissions of bodies, staff or teachers which, in his/her opinion:

• May undermine the legitimate rights of students acknowledged by Law or by the University regulations;
• Are unreasonable, unfair, inadequate or incorrect.

e) Helps to solve issues that may be of difficult resolution through the usual means for this purpose, with the services and organic units, namely:

• administrative issues (related with applications, enrolment, fees, credit transfer, equivalences, expired registrations, clarification of rights and procedures, etc.);
• pedagogical issues (related with the teaching/learning process and the interaction between students and teachers, non-teaching staff or other students; security and ethical issues; limitation of academic freedom, among others);
• social issues (related to social support: scholarships, accommodation, canteens, among others).

f) Draws up an annual report with a summary of his/her activity, safeguarding the complete confidentiality of the complaints submitted, to be made public after approval by the General Council.

Under the terms of the applicable Regulations and legislation, the Student Ombudsman:

a) Does not have the power to cancel, revoke or amend the acts of the statutorily competent bodies;
b) The Ombudsman's intervention does not suspend the course of any deadlines, namely complaints, hierarchical appeals or the exercise of any other rights.

The recommendations of the Student Ombudsman are addressed to the competent bodies, in order to correct the irregular act or situation;

The body to whom the recommendation is addressed shall, within 30 days of its receipt, inform the Student Ombudsman of the position it has been taken;

Whenever the grounds for not complying with the recommendation are not presented, or, if presented, are not considered sufficient by the Student Ombudsman, the latter shall communicate the situation to the Rector for consideration of the infringement identified by the Student Ombudsman.

The Student Ombudsman of the University of Coimbra has, within his/her potential scope of action, the power to promote proactive actions aimed at ensuring the inclusion of students and the mitigation of recurrent problems.

To that end, the Student Ombudsman may:

• Propose and monitor the collection of information by the Academic Services and Social Services, especially regarding new UC students, in order to identify cases of higher risk: distance from the family; financial support needs; placement in second or third option courses, placement in late stages of enrollment;
• Propose and monitor the definition of Student tutors and mentors (Teachers) to ensure the monitoring of Students considered at risk;
• Propose and follow-up the collection of academic information at the end of the first semester of the first year of UC attendance, in order to guarantee the academic follow-up of Students at risk and to verify the existence of situations not previously diagnosed;
• Propose and follow up the definition of an economic, pedagogical and social aid plan for students considered to be at risk, in collaboration with the Rector's Office, Academic Services, Directors of Organic Units, the Students' Union and Private Institutions (such as IUJP), which are sensitive to this kind of problems;
• Carry out studies and promote research, as well as other initiatives of scientific nature that contribute to the construction of a healthier, fairer and more upright academic environment.