On campus, the student ombudsman – sometimes also referred to as the student rights advocate – ensures that decisions made by the administration regarding student matters are respectful, transparent, reasonable, impartial, and non-discriminatory. The ombudsman also serves as a free resource for the student community to support their access to information.
During the 2026 Student Mental Health Knowledge Transfer Days (Journées SME), Marie-Claude Laquerre, student ombudsman at the University of Sherbrooke, explained how this access to information promotes student mental health by preventing or reducing psychological distress.
On ne réalise pas toujours à quel point ne pas avoir une information, ne pas la comprendre ou ne pas l’avoir à temps peut avoir un impact sur la santé mentale des personnes étudiantes. (Marie-Claude Laquerre)
For example:
- A student in distress comes to the ombudsman’s office because she wants to appeal a grade but is having trouble figuring out the process for doing so. Several staff members at the ombudsman’s office begin searching for the information but have trouble finding it themselves. In the end, they discover that the information is scattered across three different locations.
- A student comes to see the ombudsman with their internship documents, which show that they have failed the course. This could result in his exclusion from the program. The student explains that he did not receive any negative feedback or warnings during the stage.
Did you find this content useful?
