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Office for Student Conflict Resolution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Mediation

INTRODUCTION

Difficulties are meant to rouse, not discourage. The human spirit is to grow strong by conflict. –William Ellery Channing

Conflict is inevitable and a natural aspect of the lived human experience. However, if left unresolved, conflict may result in strained relationships, misunderstandings, physical altercations, and a host of other avoidable problems. The Office for Student Conflict Resolution offers free and private mediation services to any University of Illinois student who is experiencing conflict with another and wishes to try to manage the conflict with the assistance of a neutral third party. At least one of the parties to the dispute must be a currently enrolled Illinois student.

CONFLICT RESOLUTION SERVICES

Standard Mediation: The Office for Student Conflict Resolution conducts mediations for individuals involved in conflict that is impacting an established relationship, and for registered student organizations experiencing dissension that is impeding the organization’s operations.

Conflict Coaching: Individuals who wish to discuss a conflict situation may arrange a meeting with the Mediation Coordinator. The Mediation Coordinator will discern the nature of the conflict, the conflict styles of the parties involved, and the initiating party(ies)’s desired outcome, and its feasibility. The Mediation Coordinator will discuss with the initiating party(ies) a variety of approaches to addressing and/or resolving the conflict and will test the potential outcome of the various options with the initiating party’s input. Conflict Coaching is appropriate when: (1) the parties to the conflict are not interested in participating in formal mediation, (2) one party is interested in mediation but the other(s) is not, or (3) the conflict is not appropriate for mediation.

Restorative Justice Mediation: The Mediation Coordinator works closely with the Office for Student Conflict Resolution hearing officers to facilitate sanctions involving Restorative Justice Mediations. Restorative Justice Mediation is used as an alternative form of addressing behavior that would generally result in a disciplinary sanction by the University. It is employed when the offending behavior results in damage to property, minor injury to person, and/or loss of income. The process offers both parties the chance to explain their respective side of the offense.

The student whose actions resulted in a violation of the Student Code will have an opportunity to explain what motivated his/her decision-making and the subsequent impact of his actions; and the impacted party will inform the student of how his/her behavior impacted him/her (if an individual) or business operations (if offense involves a business). The ultimate objective of the mediation is for both parties to arrive at a mutual resolution as to how to remedy the outcome of the offense. Such remedies may include, but are not limited to: restitution, community service related to the offense, substance use counseling if alcohol or drugs are involved, or a letter of apology. The Office for Student Conflict Resolution facilitates the terms of the agreement between the parties until all conditions are fully satisfied.

Panhellenic Mediation: The Office for Student Conflict Resolution works with the Illinois Panhellenic Council to facilitate mediations resulting from judicial proceedings involving member organizations.

Team Action Plan (Expected Availability Fall 2009/Spring 2010): The Team Action Plan (TAP) follows a four stage process that enhances group productivity, member interactions, and provides positive conflict resolution strategies. The process is directed by two trained facilitator’s from the Office for Student Conflict Resolution. The facilitators are neutral, and therefore, know nothing about the group dynamics.

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Conflict Resolution Certification Program

Mission

The mission of the Conflict Resolution Certification Program is to develop students’ knowledge and skills to help them better manage and effectively resolve conflict.

Purpose

Students will experience conflict in all aspects of their life whether it is at work, in the classroom, or in personal interactions. Conflict is inevitable: therefore it is imperative that students are well equipped to deal with conflict appropriately. Conflict resolution skills are not traditionally taught in a university setting and students may have no other way of developing these skills except through trial and error from personal experience. The Mediation Program currently helps students resolve conflicts they are experiencing. A certification program will allow students a formal opportunity to develop conflict resolution skills and enable them to utilize the skills learned effectively in professional and personal relationships. This program takes a proactive approach by preparing students to resolve conflicts they will encounter in the future.

Skills/Benefits

This program will train students on several key skills necessary to resolving conflict. The participants will be educated on methods for managing conflict, as well as, understanding the underlying issues surrounding the conflict in order to reach an amicable resolution. Not only will students be able to resolve their own conflicts, but they will also be able to assist their peers in resolving their conflicts. These skills will be vital for some students throughout their professional careers and a certification program will allow them the ability to reference a formal training when presented with future conflicts.

This program will simultaneously benefit the Office for Student Conflict Resolution by providing additional publicity about mediation services. The students that complete the training will have a greater awareness of the office’s resources and be able to direct other students to the website and the office whenever a conflict arises that they are unable to intervene or resolve.

Targeted Audience

This program will be available to all undergraduate and graduate students attending the University of Illinois. Students that are pursuing degrees with close ties to conflict and conflict resolution will be targeted initially to participate in the program. There will be no cost associated with the program. The number of participants will be limited to ten students in order to maximize participation in interactive activities and discussions.

Time Commitment

The certification program will consist of a series of eight one hour and a half hour training sessions. The sessions will be conducted on a weekly basis for an eight week period. The topics for the training sessions are as follows:

  1. Conflict Basics
  2. Conflict Styles
  3. Effective Communication – Listening Skills
  4. Effective Communication – Telling a Story
  5. Effective Communication – Neutrality and Framing
  6. Deescalating Situations – Identifying Issues
  7. Resolving Conflict
  8. Mock Mediations

The material for the training will be completed and presented by the three Counseling Center Paraprofessionals that are working with Mediation this semester with the help of Kaamilyah Abdullah-Span, the Mediation Coordinator, and Melanie Klein, the Office for Student Conflict Resolution Graduate Assistant.

Result

After attending and completing all the sessions the students will be certified as a Conflict Resolution Coach. The names of the certified students will be placed on the OSCR website.

These participants completed 8 hours of the Conflict Resolution Training Program last semester.

Maria Morozowich
Ashley Aneloski
Lorraine Edwards
Amber Duncan
Alvin Tan
Kelly Mann
Megan Rozelle
Emily Dickey
Odinaka Ezeokoli
Tashonia Green
Mallory Herr
Curtis Edwards
Sujie Zhou
Melanie Klein
Mathew Cooper
Brittany Balazs
Jennifer Kramer

Application

Students must complete the following application and submit it by March 16th at 12pm to reserve a seat in training. The application can be emailed to conflictresolution@illinois.edu or handed in at the 300 Student Services Building; 610 East John Street, Champaign, IL 61820.