BROOKLYN THORPE
News Writer

With no university position for student advocacy, the University of Saskatchewan Student’ Union has formed its own system.

This system ensures that there is adequate representation of students who may become involved in conflicts with professors, instructors and other university staff.

The concept of student advocacy was put in place to protect the rights of students, as outlined in the Students’ Rights Handbook. Students can contact the USSU office and place formal complaints ranging from academic and admission protests to unprofessional conduct from professors.

There has always been some form of student advocate at the U of S, although the format has changed. In the past they have been called academic affairs officers. They are now referred to as confidential student support officers (CSSOs).

This year, the USSU has designated two people who can act as student advocates when necessary: vice president academic affairs Kelsey Topola and CSSO Steve Ofukany.

“The primary part of our confidential student support officer’s job is to deal with student academic grievances, guiding students through university processes, like grading appeals, problems with professors, academic misconduct charges and being an advocate for students,” said Topola.

“[As vice president] I do the same thing as well; we are both student advocates.

“The role of a student advocate is to provide support to a student who is facing a stressful situation,” and fulfills a formal role in the discipline process, explained Topola.

“The advocate accompanies students to their meetings or hearings to ensure that the procedures and outcomes are fair to the student.”

In the last academic year, 74 cases were formally brought to the student advocacy committee.

There are different procedures for handling conflicts dependent on the severity of the situation.

Students are encouraged to informally address the issue before filing a formal complaint. Often, by communicating directly with professors, situations can be resolved.

If a formal complaint is neccessary, students can go to the USSU and file one. The complaint will be kept confidential and dealt with professionally. In more serious cases, such as those of academic misconduct, this can involve going to a hearing board set up by the college that the student is in.

Of the total 74 cases in the last complete academic year, three of them dealt with students accused of academic misconduct.