Project Purposes
HEFCE funding has been given for three linked purposes:
Auditing current experience. To determine HEIs' experience with mediation and other forms of alternative dispute resolution.
Alternative handling of disputes. To discuss with HEIs ways of identifying disputes which are suitable for mediation.
Meeting training needs. To work with HEIs to develop training needs assessments for mediation.
Strand (a) - Auditing current experience
Audit of current dispute resolution practice and consultation on ways of improving practice
HEIs may participate in this part of the project either by responding to the questionnaire, or by arranging a visit from one of the project team.
The questionnaire is available in Word (.doc) and Acrobat (.pdf) formats. This may be filled in in whole or in part and emailed back to Jane O'Hare as an attachment.
Alternatively, you can complete the Questionnaire online.
Please contact Jane O'Hare if you would like us to arrange for a member of the team to visit your institution for face-to-face discussion of your response rather than filling it in remotely.
Initial findings will be analysed and made available in anonymised and statistical form on the website.
Comment and feedback is welcome at any time, please contact us.
In the light of the findings of the first phase, we intend to extend data gathering to Phase Two, involving additional HEIs and returning for further discussion to any Stage One HEIs which would welcome continuing participation.
Different patterns experienced in large and small institutions.
Strand A Report now available
The results of the Project 'audit' of HEI's experience with mediation and other forms of alternative dispute resolution may be read here: Strand A Report. (PDF Document)
Strand (b) - Alternative handling of disputes
Please contact us if you are interested in any of these areas.
i. Typology of disputes - Jim O'Driscoll will be developing a draft 'typology' of situations of conflict in HEIs, with particular reference to language.
ii. Saving costs - John Peysner will be seeking to ensure that alternative dispute resolution really saves money and exploring ways in which HEIs can ensure that there are 'reality checks' about escalating costs in the course of the conduct of disputes.
iii. The role of an in-house Ombudsman - Professor Harinder Bahra will be exploring the use of a 'campus ombudsman'
iv. The role of the unions and the role of their legal advisers - David Bleiman (UCU) will be working to develop the understanding of the possibilities of alternative dispute resolution within the union movement and its legal advisers working in HEI. The other campus unions are to be included in this section of our work. We plan to develop work separately with the student unions as the project progress.
Introducing mediation in a unionised environment
A talk by David Bleiman at the seminar on "Mediation in higher education: UK and USA perspectives" hosted by HR department, University of Edinburgh on 11 March 2008.
More Information... (.DOC Document)
CNCR visit to Scotland report for IDR 15 March 2008
Georgia campus mediation experts visit Scotland.
More Information... (.DOC Document)
v. Disputes involving students - A working group will be concentrating on disputes which involve students.
vi. The international student dimension - This part of our work will be concerned with the growing problem of multi-party and multi-jurisdiction disputes arising from
- complaints from EU and international students coming to the UK
- complaints from UK students who spend periods studying abroad
- disputes arising in connection with international collaborative ventures such as overseas campus arrangements, transnational and partnership agreements.
These are potentially extremely expensive to resolve through the courts. Professor Tim Birtwistle is a Bologna promoter and will also be involved in this area of our work.
Some outcomes for the project of issues raised in the course of the Second European Quality Assurance Forum held in Rome from 15-17 November 2007 and the Asia-Pacific Quality Network annual conference in Tokyo from 20-22 February 2008.
More information...
vii. Disputes involving commercial funding, intellectual property and spin-outs - Objectives of this strand of the project are:
- to provide a reference list of key recent documents
- to invite contributions from HEIs to help us create a simple list of
good practice principles - to list examples of the ways in which things can go wrong.
- global corporation funding of research involving 'international' contracts
We shall be liaising with the UK Panel for Research Integrity in Health and Biomedical Sciences. www.ukrio.org.uk
Strand B Report now available
Strand B - Alternative Handling of Disputes (PDF Document)
Strand (c) - To work with HEIs to develop mediation training
Frances Burton
Eileen Fry
Jane O'Hare
i. To evaluate current mediation training provision
A review of current mediation training provision will be conducted including training for in-house management and staff in HEIs, training available through commercial providers and courses taught at undergraduate and postgraduate levels in HEIs. This review will analyse current provision in depth and evaluate it against current standards in education and training.
Initial findings will be analysed and made available on the website as a resource for those seeking to select mediation training courses.
ii. To develop good practice guidelines in mediation training provision both for in-house management and staff development use and as a contribution to a standard for professional accredited mediator training and leading to the establishment of high quality training options for mediators.
Good practice proposals and guidelines will be developed following extensive debate with our project partners and via the website, publication of articles, workshops, conferences etc.
It is intended that these good practice guidelines will be used to lead to the development of new and improved courses in mediator training provision both for in-house management and staff development use and more widely in the provision of high quality professional accredited mediator training.
OxCHEPS Case Study: Mediation Outcome Statement (PDF Document, 36kb)
Leeds Metropolitan University, lead HEI for the IDR project, has set up an in-house Mediation Service for its staff. More Information...
The University of Sunderland has provided details for its in-house Mediation Service. Overview (DOC Document), Policy Details (PDF Document)
"Towards Good Practice Guidelines in Mediator Training Courses" (DOC Document) - Dr Eileen Fry comments.
Strand C Report now available
Strand C - Working with HEIs to develop mediation training (PDF Document)