Physical contact is not a required element of such relationships. A Covered Relationship may exist on the basis of a single interaction. The University of Michigan strives to create and maintain a community that enables each person to reach their full potential. To do so requires an environment of trust, openness, civility, and respect. The teacher-student relationship lies at the foundation of the educational process. As a matter of sound judgment and professional ethics, faculty members have a responsibility to avoid any apparent or actual conflict between their professional responsibilities and personal relationships with students. Faculty have a collective responsibility to the student experience as members and representatives of the University community, and with each class of incoming students who are bound together in space and time.

Professors, power and predators: why student-teacher relationships should be banned

Categorized: General Policies. Responsible Office: Compliance, Diversity, and Ethics. Sexual or romantic relationships between employees and students have the effect of undermining the atmosphere of trust on which the educational process depends. Positions of authority inherently carry the element of power in their relationships with Students.

In order to model appropriate professional relations, explain to any student who inappropriately derides teaching assistants, peers, and professors in your.

The University has an interest in ensuring that academic, employment, and business matters are decided on objective bases. At an institution such as the University of Arizona, a variety of personal and romantic relationships may exist among employees, University agents, students, and third parties. The University establishes this personnel policy to address conflicts of interest arising from interpersonal relationships not otherwise covered by existing policies or law.

The intent of this policy is to direct employees to disclose relationships that have created or may create conflicts of interest and to give the University an opportunity to manage and reconcile any such conflicts, if possible. Employees who violate this policy may be subject to disciplinary action; however, because this policy is designed to encourage employees to disclose personal relationships that may give rise to or have given rise to conflicts of interest, an alleged violation of this policy may not be a basis upon which employees may file grievances against one another.

Relationships with Students Outside the Instructional, Supervisory, or Evaluative Context: Romantic or sexual relationships between employees and students when the employees do not have a direct instructional, supervisory, or evaluative responsibility with respect to the student are not per se prohibited. They may, however, result in a conflict of interest, particularly when the employee and student are in the same unit or in units that are allied.

Office of Human Resources, Diversity & Inclusion

When psychology senior Emma Sturm matched with him on Tinder, she knew their common passions and interests could lead to a fun relationship. There was one problem: he was a professor and she was a student. Their relationship was natural and a date that was supposed to last a couple hours turned into an entire day. According to an informal Mustang News poll on the Cal Poly Class of and Facebook pages, of more than students who answered, two claimed to have had a relationship with a professor while at Cal Poly.

While these relationships are between two consenting adults, the potential pitfalls of students dating professors are greater than in the average relationship between two college students and include legal, ethical and social impacts.

Consensual romantic relationships between undergraduate students and faculty with students, pointing to professional ethics and potential conflicts of interest.

The purpose of this policy is to set forth expectations for University community members regarding amorous or sexual relationships and to ensure that such relationships do not result in actual or perceived impropriety. The University of North Florida is committed to providing and maintaining a working and learning environment that is fulfilling and equitable for all members of the University community including students, faculty and staff.

Implicit in the University’s commitment is that all community members conduct themselves in an ethical manner in their interactions and relationships with each other. To accomplish the University’s goals, relationships between students, faculty and staff must be based on integrity, respect and trust. Any amorous or sexual relationships between community members that call these principles into question interfere with the University’s academic mission.

Amorous or sexual relationships between individuals of unequal power e. Any member of the University community who violates this policy is subject to discipline by the applicable supervisory authority.

‘Abuse of power’: should universities ban staff-student relationships?

Relationships between a faculty member and a student, or a staff member such as a coach, adviser, college administrator, or employment supervisor and a student, are considered professional relationships. These professional relationships carry an inherent power differential. Where such a power differential exists, it compromises the real or perceived freedom of the student’s ability to begin, alter or terminate a romantic or sexual relationship.

Therefore, for faculty and staff, the initiation of or engagement in a romantic or sexual relationship with a student wherein a power differential exists is prohibited. Therefore, even in cases in which the faculty or staff member does not hold a current position of authority or supervision over the student, romantic or sexual relationships between faculty or staff members and students present the individual and institutional risks and liabilities outlined below, including possible disciplinary action.

Rutgers University faculty and their students — both undergrads and graduates — are not currently prohibited from being in a sexual or.

The answer to an ethics question sometimes becomes obvious when it is apparent that every argument on one side is either a logical fallacy, an unethical rationalization, or the application of an invalid ethics principle. Such is the case here, and thus I somewhat question the motives of the author of the post, Kelly Anders. Wishful thinking, perhaps? Asking the question creates the illusion that there is a real controversy.

I addressed this question a long time ago, in an early post here barely seen at the time but among the most frequently visited since. I wrote:. Dating a student is a professional breach of trust, and one that adversely effects the integrity of the entire educational institution….

Former Student, Fair Game?

Skip navigation. Regardless of the code of ethics to which you subscribe, being ethical in your teaching requires that you anticipate problems that may arise as you teach and that you think about how you would respond to them. Ultimately, your interaction with students is governed by University policy, but here are some precepts to consider.

No. , Rev. , Date A. Ethical Canons. As teachers, faculty encourage the free pursuit of learning in students. Faculty protect their students​’ academic freedom (based upon the AAUP Statement of Professional Ethics, ).

By using our site, you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Cookie Policy , Privacy Policy , and our Terms of Service. Academia Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for academics and those enrolled in higher education. It only takes a minute to sign up. I am a 32 year old Assistant Professor.

I met a girl at a conference. I liked her, but I realized she is a graduate student at the same university where I am faculty member. She is from the same school, but from a different department. Is it ethical for me to date her? I hope it’s ethical! My husband was a graduate student at the university I’m a professor at, in a different department in the same school, when we started dating. In separate departments, that’s not likely to be an issue: most assistant professors at most universities don’t have power over graduate students in other departments.

There are still situations where issues could arise – say, if you ended up on the panel choosing which grad student from the school would win a prize, and she were a candidate; or if you were asked to be the outside member of her thesis committee at a school which picks outside members to be professors from other departments. So, unless your school has a specific policy on the subject, it’s probably ethical, as long as you make sure to avoid being in a position that creates a specific conflict.

Ethical Teaching (FERPA)

The relationship between teacher and student is the foundation of the academic mission of the University. This relationship vests considerable trust in the teacher, who, in turn, bears the responsibility to serve as mentor, educator, and evaluator. In discharging this responsibility, teachers are accountable for behaving in a manner that reflects the highest levels of professional responsibility, recognizes the dignity and worth of each person at the University, and protects the integrity of the student-teacher relationship.

Teacher-student relationships carry risks of conflict of interest, breach of trust, abuse of power, and breach of professional ethics.

Commentary: Doctors without Boundaries: The Ethics of Teacher-student to date, few training programs currently teach faculty and residents about the ethics​.

In Pennsylvania, school attendance is compulsory and thus parents are mandated to entrust their children to our education system. It is from this foundation that the duty of teachers to act as a fiduciary in their students’ best interest and to create and maintain a safe environment for their students derives. The overwhelming majority of educators in Pennsylvania exercise their fiduciary responsibilities with care and conviction.

The few who breach their duties, however, undermine the profession and leave a trail of devastation, particularly with student victims. It has been our experience that when a teacher enters into an inappropriate relationship with a student, the teacher violates the recognized student-teacher boundary and thereby redefines the boundary inappropriately.

For example, the teacher-student relationship may initially be appropriate, but at some point the relationship shifts to serving the needs of the teacher and not the needs of the student. In many cases, the teacher takes on a new role with a student, which causes the traditional relationship to become blurred.

4.1 Inappropriate Conduct by Faculty Members

Institutions tend to either ban student-faculty dating altogether or where a supervisory relationship exists. The ages of the couple — her, 25; him, 71 — are unusually far apart. Princeton, like a growing number of institutions, has banned all student-faculty relationships, including for graduate students. Platt has said that she waited until two years after her graduation to ask Mitchell out.

Mitchell, who is currently on preplanned leave, is just one of a number of professors to engage in or attempt to initiate a relationship with a former student or students.

Faculty Code Of Ethics · Treat all students with fairness and respect, striving to be fair in the evaluation of student work. · Encourage free discussion.

This policy was approved by the Board of Trustees on June 21, The University has a duty to provide for the student those privileges, opportunities, and protections which best promote the learning process in all its aspects. The relationship between an instructor [2] and a student plays an important role in accomplishing this mission. Certain responsibilities bestowed upon instructors have long been codified in the Faculty Rights and Responsibilities policy:. The teacher has the responsibility to encourage the pursuit of learning by students by manifesting the best academic standards of the discipline or profession.

To accord students respect as individuals, the teacher shall seek to establish a relationship of mutual trust and to establish an appropriate role as an intellectual guide, counselor and mentor, both in and out of the classroom. The relationship between instructor and student as individuals should be founded on mutual respect, trust and understanding, together with shared dedication to the educational process.

Instructors carry a responsibility to students, colleagues, the scholarly community, and the public to perform their duties in a professional, respectful, and collegial manner [4] , and must do so with a commitment to honoring the highest ethical standards. They are regarded as guardians of the University, charged with preserving in it the privilege of teaching students which society has entrusted to their care. The University is committed to creating a safe learning environment free of conflicts of interest in achieving its educational mission.

It is therefore recognized by Michigan State University that consensual amorous and sexual relationships between instructors and students are counterintuitive to these rights and responsibilities, to the environment desired, and in upholding the mission of the University. Such personal relations undermine the integrity of the instructor and student relationship. There is an inherent power differential between instructors and students making consensual amorous and sexual relationships between instructors and students fundamentally unequal.

Crush On A Professor?