The article reviews the concept of an ombudsperson, shows how it can be adapted to classroom usage, and summarizes the authors’experiences over a 10-year period. The student ombudsperson (SO) is selected by classmates to enhance communication between the instructor and class. Using an SO helps produce the following: better upward communication, a psychologically safe classroom environment, another set of eyes and ears for the instructor, and an early warning system for identifying problems. The SO concept is compared with that of the workplace ombudsperson. Guidelines are provided for classroom usage of an SO.
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