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Dispute Resolution System Successful in Georgia
Institutions of higher education inevitably see their share of interpersonal and interdepartmental conflicts. In the University System of Georgia, such conflicts are increasingly handled by an alternative dispute resolution system that emphasizes mediation and negotiation.
“The purpose of mediation is to reach common interests so that the dispute diminishes or is resolved to the mutual satisfaction of both parties, eliminating the need for the traditional process of filing grievances and appeals,” says Donald Wagner, a professor of political science and chair of the Georgia Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Alternative Dispute Resolution. “The parties are treated as equals by the mediator, with the understanding that no recrimination or retaliation will follow their discussions,” adds Wagner, who says the system makes the university “a better place to work and to be.”
The system grew out of a 1995 initiative adopted by the university system’s board of regents; in the interest of minimizing lawsuits and resolving disputes quickly, the board encouraged each of the thirty-four institutions in the University System of Georgia to develop a dispute resolution program suitable to its environment and resources. Most campuses have revised their grievance procedures to include a dispute resolution component, and each campus has a liaison and a committee of faculty, staff, and students that oversees conflict resolution issues specific to the campus. On some campuses, the efforts of staff and faculty volunteers are supplemented by paid dispute resolution staff. A statewide mediation program makes trained mediators available where they are needed.
In addition to encouraging people to settle their disputes with a minimum of confrontation, the program saves the Georgia system money by reducing the number of lawsuits that are filed and by streamlining dispute resolutions, state officials say. A case of alleged academic dishonesty that would take ninety days and involve sixteen people to resolve through the traditional disciplinary process can be resolved in seven days with three people under the new dispute resolution system, with the added bonus of educating the parties involved, says Betsey Neely, a vice chancellor of the university system.
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