Board of Regents of the
University System of Georgia Resolution

Developed by Committee on Organization and Law
November 9-10, 1994

Resolution to Support and Encourage Alternative Methods of Dispute Resolution

Recommended: That the Board adopt the following Resolution supporting and encouraging alternative means of dispute resolution within the University System.

WHEREAS the State of Georgia and the Georgia Supreme Court have taken the lead in formulating state-wide offices of dispute resolution to facilitate the use of alternative dispute resolution models in the courts and to resolve public and community conflicts, and

WHEREAS litigation is only one of many ways to resolve a dispute, and other processes include negotiation, conciliation, facilitation, mediation, fact-finding and arbitration, and

WHEREAS the Board of Regents is desirous of exploring ways to reduce the number of appeals and lawsuits within the University System of Georgia,

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RECORDED that the Board of Regents supports the creation through the Office of the Executive Secretary of a Blue Ribbon Committee to study alternative forms of dispute resolution which exist in higher education, and to bring to the Board recommendations for initiatives which may be pursued in the University System for the mitigation of and fair resolution of disputes.

There are already a number of alternative dispute resolution programs in incipient stages throughout the University System, among them peer mediation in faculty and student contexts, an ombuds program, a faculty position in the field of alternative dispute resolution at the Georgia State University College of Law, initiatives to promote non-violent methods of dispute resolution in elementary and secondary schools, and the training of University System Affirmative Action officers as mediators. Adoption of the above Resolution will support and encourage the programs already underway and identify to the Board of Regents further initiatives which may be undertaken by the Board and University System institutions to settle disputes and reduce the number of lawsuits.

For more detailed information on the initiative, go to the Board of Regents' Initiative and Policy Direction on Conflict Resolution page at the Consortium on Negotiation and Conflict Resolution.