Bowling Green State University Online

Mediation and Dispute Resolution

The program is offered in partnership with the Institute for Advanced Dispute Resolution™. Mediation is a formal process of negotiation which uses a third-party neutral who has limited or no authoritative decision-making power to facilitate communication among the people who are involved in the conflict or dispute. The mediator establishes the ground rules for the process, recognizes the needs and wants of each party and plays a pivotal role by assisting the people involved to focus on the real issues of the dispute. Through the use of specific skills, the mediator is able to settle disagreements among conflicted parties, even in cases where deep rooted tensions have not responded to initial attempts at negotiation