Approved by the President of the Georgian American University, LLC Order # 01-057 of 01 March 2018 Appendix 1
Georgian American University
The charter of Student Ombudsman
General Provisions
- This charter determines “Georgian American University, LLC” ombudsman status, basic principles and forms of his/her activities;
- The student ombudsman shall conduct his/her activities in accordance with: “Law of Georgia on Higher Education”, provisions of “Georgian American University”, LLC, provisions of basic educational unit schools (faculties) and Georgian American University Code of Ethics;
- The principles of work of student ombudsman are independence, impartiality and flexibility.
Appointment of the Student Ombudsman
- The student ombudsman is appointed by the President of “Georgian American University” for a two-year term;
- Only an adult with an academic degree can be appointed as ombudsman. The student ombudsman must be fluent in Georgian and English;
- A person with a criminal record cannot be appointed as student ombudsman;
- The student ombudsman must have work experience in an academic field and/or experience in student rights protection;
- The student ombudsman must not hold an academic position in the university and must not be engaged in pedagogical activities;
- A person can be appointed as student ombudsman for only two 2-year terms.
Rights and Responsibilities of the Student Ombudsman
- The student ombudsman supervises the protection of students’ rights within the university;
- The students have the right to receive education in a safe environment, free of all forms of violence and harassment;
- The student ombudsman’s responsibilities include:
- protection of students’, lecturers’ and other university personnel’s rights from all forms of violence and harassment;
- Solving the problems that prevent the formation of universal values of students, lecturers and other personnel;
- Facilitating the diversity of student life;
- The student ombudsman’s activities can be based on any valid information, delivered to him/her in writing and through e-mail;
- The student ombudsman shall report to the university administration and basic educational units once a year;
- The student ombudsman can be dismissed from his/her post prematurely, in case of violation of the University Code of Ethics, interference with professor’s academic freedom, abuse of power, and/or existence of circumstances envisaged by Georgian legislation and employment agreement;
- The student ombudsman’s communication forms, working hours and response times are determined according to the University President’s order.
