Office of Graduate Assistance (OGA)

The Office of Graduate Assistance (OGA) is available to meet with Purdue University graduate students to assist them in addressing a variety of issues that may arise during the course of a student's time at the University. In the event that the situation is an emergency, please contact 911.  

The OGA will provide impartial, independent, and informal assistance with reference to your concerns based on our knowledge of University policy, practice and personnel without judgement.

The information you share during your consultation will be handled with the highest degree of confidentiality as possible. Ombuds in our office may share information about your situation with others in the OGA to draw on our collective knowledge and experience.  We will not share information with others outside our office except in the following circumstances: 

• with your express, written consent;
• if required by University policy to report cases of alleged research misconduct to the Research Integrity Office or the Office of the Executive Vice President for Research and Partnerships;
• if required by law to report, such as in cases in which the Ombuds has a reasonable basis to believe that there is a risk of imminent harm to you or to others or suspected incidents of child abuse or neglect;
• if required by our role as a Title IX mandatory reporter, which requires us to report incidents of sexual discrimination, harassment, assault or exploitation, any other incident of unwelcome sexual conduct, and incidents of relationship violence or stalking.

Request for Assistance Form

Examples of concerns brought to the OGA include, but are not limited to:

• Authorship disputes - Issues of credit, acknowledgement, citation (unless framed clearly as plagiarism)
• Funding concerns
• Grade concerns and/or appeals
• Student - Major Professor relationship disputes, issues, abnormalities, mismatch of expectations
• Mentoring issues - timely feedback, contradicting advice, oversharing, lack of advising (or time allotment)
• Intellectual property disputes
• Conflicts of interest
• Questionable research practices

Our office also provides Mediation Services which provide you an opportunity to informally resolve your concerns. Mediation Services necessarily require our office to share information about your concerns with others outside of our office. If you elect to utilize our Mediation Services, we will provide you with a full understanding of your rights and responsibilities.