{"id":202224,"date":"2026-03-23T10:27:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T10:27:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/202224\/"},"modified":"2026-03-23T10:27:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T10:27:07","slug":"usfs-student-ombuds-office-expands-with-new-adviser-larger-space","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/202224\/","title":{"rendered":"USF\u2019s Student Ombuds Office expands with new adviser, larger space"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/a>USF\u2019s Student Ombuds Office will move to a larger, renovated part of the John and Grace Allen Building this April. ORACLE PHOTO\/CAROLINA MOLERO ROCA<\/p>\n

USF\u2019s Student Ombuds Office, which helps students navigate day-to-day issues and university concerns, has been led by Jennifer Smith Schneider for more than a decade.<\/p>\n

The office, which reopened in January 2016<\/a> after a two-year closure, helps students resolve conflicts and find solutions for them and the university, according to the Student Ombuds Office<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Schneider said the office provides students with one-hour appointments to voice their concerns or issues surrounding the university. The office operates without formal authority, meaning it cannot enforce decisions or policies.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are an independent, impartial, confidential, informal resource for students who have university-related concerns,\u201d Schneider said. \u201cWe\u2019re really here to make sure people feel heard and that processes are fair.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schneider, who was the only Student Ombuds adviser for over a decade, said that the addition of a second adviser last March and the opening of a larger space in April will help the office serve more students.<\/p>\n

During the 2024\u201325 academic year, the office saw 559 visitors and handled 719 individual meetings, according to the Student Ombuds Office Annual Report<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201c[The new office] gives us an opportunity to have a confidential meeting space for groups, which is the biggest bonus, and it gives us extra room for the students and [the new adviser],\u201d Schneider said.<\/p>\n

Related: USF Counseling Center offers new online scheduling procedure<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Schneider joined USF\u2019s Student Ombuds in February 2015<\/a> and completed extensive training to become a certified organizational worker with the International Ombuds Association<\/a>.<\/p>\n

She said there were initially three staff members when she joined the Student Ombuds, but that they were part-time workers with other roles on campus.<\/p>\n

This meant Schneider handled all student cases alone for over ten years, often meeting with up to five students a day while also conducting research and follow-ups on each case.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt got to a point where students were having to wait several days for appointments, and many of the issues we handle are time-sensitive,\u201d Schneider said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As USF evolved into a larger, more nationally recognized institution, Schneider said the demand for Student Ombuds services grew \u2014\u00a0and the office expanded to meet it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Laura Zuppo, the director of the Student Ombuds, joined the office in March 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Zuppo worked part-time at USF St. Pete as a collateral ombuds<\/a> until last year, when she joined the Student Ombuds on the Tampa campus as a full-time employee, according to the Student Ombuds Office Annual Report<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In addition to Zuppo\u2019s full-time role, Schneider said an undergraduate student joined the office last March to help manage outreach and marketing.<\/p>\n

The added personnel have helped reduce wait times for students and raise awareness of the offices\u2019 services by allowing them to split responsibilities and visits, Schneider said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Along with new staff, Schneider said the office\u2019s physical space is also changing \u2014 moving from its suite in the John and Grace Allen Building to a larger, renovated space in the same building.<\/p>\n

Schneider said that the upgrade will include private meeting rooms, additional workspace and improve confidentiality for students, which she hopes will be complete this April.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the past, students might have been sitting right outside my door waiting,\u201d Schneider said. \u201cNow we\u2019ll have space to ensure privacy, especially for more sensitive conversations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the office\u2019s growth in staff and space, Schneider said awareness remains a challenge.<\/p>\n

She said many students only learn about the office after they\u2019ve already gone through formal processes, which limits the help the office can provide.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018I wish I had known about this earlier\u2019 \u2014 we hear that all the time,\u201d Schneider said.<\/p>\n

Schneider said Student Ombuds only records information and notes about the general nature of the issue or concern and does not record student information.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome students don\u2019t want to be part of a formal process,\u201d Schneider said. \u201cThey just want to talk through something or figure out their options without it going any further.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related: \u2018Stand with us\u2019: Muslim students call on USF for a stronger response after prayer harassment<\/a><\/p>\n

As the new space prepares to open in April, Schneider hopes more students will take advantage of the office and its services.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s meaningful to help students and to help improve the university at the same time,\u201d Schneider said.<\/p>\n

Schneider said she hopes the new space will allow the office to accommodate more students and have more availability for those who need that safe space.<\/p>\n

And though she said colleges and students will continue to evolve, Schneider believes the need for human-centered support will remain constant.<\/p>\n

\u201cStudents are navigating a lot of change right now,\u201d Schneider said. \u201cHaving a space where they can talk through challenges \u2014 that\u2019s always going to be important.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"USF\u2019s Student Ombuds Office will move to a larger, renovated part of the John and Grace Allen Building…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":202225,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[135,137,136],"class_list":["post-202224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=202224"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202224\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/202225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=202224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=202224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=202224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}