University of Virginia Library

Referral
Service
To Begin

Beginning in the fall,
students who encounter
difficulties with, for example, a
University administrator, an
administrative office, a
landlord, or simply desire
information about academics
or activities will have a
student-run referral agency at
their service.

The Student Council
"Ombudsman" program will
handle a wide range of student
complaints, questions and
problems through its telephone
number, 295-3531. A group of
student volunteers will man the
phone daily, and will refer
callers to the appropriate
source to handle the caller's
particular problem.

Move Interference

The Ombudsman service
will "move interference" for
students with problems or
questions, Council President
Larry Sabato explained. "We're
not trying to supplant
anybody. We will work with
academic advisors, student
Legal Services and other
sources on this. It's one means
to quickly cope with problems
and questions," he said.

"The University is not as
personal as it once was, and
consequently it becomes more
difficult to relate to, just
because of its size," Mr. Sabato
continued. "Therefore, we
want students to know what to
do and where to go to find out
information through one broad
outlet," he said.

Referrals

The service will refer, for
example, students in need of
academic advising to the
appropriate dean, or to
Student Legal Services' if he or
she is in need of legal advice.
Ombudsman will also supply
information about activities or
groups or refer callers to
sources where they can obtain
the information they request.