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Student Mediation Services
SCRS offeres free mediation services to all Texas A&M students as an option to help resolve conflicts and disagreements. Mediation is a problem solving process facilitated by a neutral third party which promotes understanding and settlement in a safe and confidential environment. Student issues that benifit from mediation range from civil and commercial disputes to family and interpersonal disagreements.
Some commom disputes resolved by Student Mediation Services include:
- roomate conflicts
- neighbor disputes
- landlord/tenant disputes
- disputes over money owed
- harassment
- work related disputes
- disagreements in Student Organizations
- relationship disagreements
Benefits of Mediation
- A high success rate
- Free to enrolled TAMU students
- Confidentiality
- Convenient and saves time
- Deals directly with the issue
- Voluntary
- Saves your reputation
- Expands your options
Frequently Asked Questions About Mediation
- Who are the mediators?
- What does a mediator do?
- How do I request a mediation?
- How does a mediation session work?
- How long does mediation take?
- Is mediation confidential?
- What role does mediation play in the Student Conduct process?
- Why should I give mediation a try?
Mediators are student and staff volunteers who have completed the Stare required forty hours of classroom education in the techniques of dispute resolution. Thye are qualified to serve and be appointed as a mediator by the courts of the State of Texas. The mediator assigned to help students work through a disput must be accetpable to all parties to ensure neutrality.
- Facilitates communication in the mediattion process
- Helps the parties understand each other's views
- Promotes venting or emotional expression in a safe environment
- Deals with differences in perceptions and interests between parties
- Shifts the focus from the past to the future
- Encourages the parties to suggest creative and realistic settlements
Students have the option to walk-in (Cain Hall C-315) or call (979-847-7272) the SCRS office to schedule a mediation intake appointment with a staff member. During this initial meeting students will explain the conflict and identify the parties involved. Using the information provided by the student, the SCRS staff members will decide if mediation is approperiate.
If mediation is approperiate, the SCRS staff member will collect the necessary information and assign a mediator. The student is resonsible for notifying all parties involved in the conflict of the pending mediation and scheduling a time for a joint session. If a student is uncomfortable with this responsibility, the assigned mediator may contact the parties and schedule the session date and time. Participation in the conflict mediation process is voluntary. SCRS cannot force a student to agree to mediation or attend any sessions.
If the conflict presented by the student during the intake appointment is not approperiate for mediation, the SCRS staff member may referr the student to other campus services or community resources for assistance.
Mediation may be composed of three parts: joint session, private cacus and agreement or settlement.
Joint Session (60-90minutes). During the joint session of the mediation, all parties discuss the issues and what they hope to gain from mediation. The interest and needs of each participant are discussed an options for meeting those needs and interestes are explored. Ideally, the entire mediation takes place in the joint session, however, the mediator or parties may request a private cacaus to gain or share additional information.
Private Cacus (20-30minutes). During private cacaus, parties meet privately with the mediator to disclose any information not shared in the joint session. It is during this portion of the mediation that the mediator usually learns information that the parties are reluctant to share with each other that is often the source of the disagreement. Information revealed in private is confidential and will not be shared unless the mediator is given permission. After each party has met in private cacus, the mediator my reconvein joint session and move forward with the mediation.
Agreement or Settlement. When the possibility for agreement exists, the parties generate agreement options. If all parties agree on the proposed options, then it is documented on a Memorandum of Understanding Form which is signed by all parties invovled. If the parties do not agree, discussion continues an all alternatives are explored.
There are some cases that will not be resolved through mediation. If agreement is not reached, the mediation session can be terminated by the mediator or any of the parties involved.
Mediation ideally takes place during one or more 60-90 minute join session(s), however may take longer depending on the number of participants and their individual needs. Students are able to schedule additional joint session, private cacus, or follow-up meetings depending on the avaliability of their mediator.
One of the advantages of mediation is the degree of confidentiality. Confidential information discolsed to a mediator by the parties or witnesses during the course of the mediation will not be divulged without the student's permission. All records, reports or other documents received by a mediator during mediation are also confidential.
What role does mediation play in the Student Conduct process?
In some cases, a conduct officer may believe that a case can be better resolved through mediation and will offer the parties that option. If a settlement is reached, this agreement would be binding under the TAMU Student Conduct Code. However, if an agreement is not reached, then the case if referred back to the conduct officer for final adjudication.
Why should I give mediation a try?
Mediation is a way to resolve personal disputes in a timely manner without the expenses required in litigation. THe focus of mediation is to seek a mutually acceptable agreement between parties. Mediation creates and explores many options for resolution and helps preserve business or personal relationships.
Mediation opens communication and provides sturcture for discussion in which the parties are active participants. The parties tend to take "ownership" of the agreements reached, which result in greater compliance.
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Wednesday, March 31, 2010 - 8:00am - Thursday, April 1, 2010 - 8:00pmTexas A&M University