by Doris Kiendl, visitor to Stellenbosch from Austria
Stellenbosch, South Africa, October of 2024
Rina Meyer is the ombuds at Stellenbosch University; she has been in this role since 2016. Stellenbosch is a large university in the Western Cape region of South Africa with more than 30.000 students and more than 4.000 full time staff.
Doris Kiendl is professor at FH JOANNEUM University of Applied Sciences in Austria; she has been an active member of ENOHE since 2010. In October of 2024 Doris visited Stellenbosch and met Rina for this interview.
Doris:
Thank you very much, dear Rina, for taking the time for this meeting and for making yourself available for this interview.
You have been working at Stellenbosch university as ombuds since 2016. These eight years of your service have certainly been very intensive. You told me that you are responsible for all kinds of requests, whether by students or by faculty or even by the public, such as external service providers to the university. So, your scope of activities is very broad.
As regards student requests: What are typical cases that you have been dealing with?
Rina:
It is a very broad range of requests that this office has been receiving over the past 8 years. Students come from a great variety of backgrounds and study at 10 different faculties, which makes it quite complex. Students would typically have issues regarding various areas of academic and student life, readmission after unsuccessful studies, funding problems (only students from families with a very low income get state funding), problems with online learning (during the Covid-years), complaints about faculty members treating them unfairly, accommodation problems (only 5000 of the 30 000 students can be accommodated in university residences), language issues (we have 11 official languages in the country and not all students are equally fluent in English), and many queries regarding access to this university (it is a very popular university getting over a 100 000 applications every year with only space for about 6000 newcomers).
Doris:
You told me that during COVID, online consultations with ENOHE members were very useful for you to share experience and discuss current issues. What were some of the takeaways for you through these online meetings with colleagues of ENOHE?
Rina:
Yes, these experiences were extremely valuable for me. In South Africa only 6 out of the 26 universities have ombuds, and most offices are in their baby shoes. Therefore, contact with very experienced Ombuds in higher education like those in ENOHE, has helped me navigate the Ombuds road more than I can tell. These discussions went on even after Covid and became regular sessions. The Ombuds I met there were very open to exchanging experiences, ideas, and different scenarios that led to growth and insight and caused us to be friends across the oceans apart from the fact that we are Ombuds.
Doris:
Have the framework conditions for studying (e.g. how classes and examinations are held; financial circumstances, such as grants and tuition fees; support for students of less privileged families or other conditions) changed at Stellenbosch University since 2016? If so, in which way? And would you say that changes in the framework conditions have had an impact on your work as an ombuds?
Rina:
Since 2016 a government funding project has been launched, with different degrees of success, but the purpose was to provide funding for qualifying students who come from poor families so they could better their lives and those of their families by way of a university education. The project was very badly administered with, unfortunately, many incidents of corruption, theft and other happenings. This led to extreme frustration for these students and their families. Although the university is only indirectly involved, by allocating the bursaries, they had to try and assist these students who came knocking at their door when the project let them down. This had an overflow into the Ombud office where many cases were reported that had to do with the above. This caused some sleepless nights as answers could not easily be found. As to classes and examinations – during Covid those were all online, which created the same difficulties as in many institutions abroad, but it gradually moved back to normal classes and examinations as the Covid rules in the country opened up in 2021 and 2022. Stellenbosch University is a residential university and they strive to keep it that way.
Doris:
What have been some of the key learnings which you gained through your work as ombuds in Stellenbosch? What would you tell a person who is a newcomer to ombuds work in academia: What should each university ombuds consider and know when starting into this role?
Rina:
I learned that a good relationship with every single person that you encounter in your work as Ombuds is key to successful service in this capacity at the university. I also learned that you really have to listen well, each time you have a new matter. Read between the lines, detect the real issue, and even where persons have erred, try and help them with the problem they experienced which had caused them to err. See them as human beings, all just trying to do their best in their own unique circumstances. Communication is important, clear and meaningful communication – from the side of the Ombud office and also in feedback to the institution. Universities have to train staff to communicate well, with honesty, openness and transparency. This is extremely important, and will lead to more trust and build the institution positively and help them move forward in excellence. As Ombud you have the opportunity to assist your institution to understand and apply this.
Doris:
Thank you very much for the interview!
Photo credit: W. Bösch