DRAFT 11/08/00
Annotation: The title of the policy has been modified to
clarify that this policy refers only to relationships involving students. Relationships involving supervisor and
employee are covered by the Conflict of Interest in Employment policy.
The
definitions section is now Section V below.
The
integrity of the University’s educational mission is promoted by
professionalism that derives from mutual trust and respect in faculty-student
relationships. Similarly, the University
is committed to the principle of protecting the integrity and objectivity of
its staff members in the performance of their University duties. It is therefore fundamental to the
University’s overall mission that the professional responsibilities of its
faculty and staff be carried out in an atmosphere that
is free of conflicts of interest that compromise these principles. [For further information about conflicts of
interest, please refer to the Conflict of Interest policy in the Operations Manual at II.18 and the Conflict of Interest in Employment policy
in the Operations Manual at III.8.]
Romantic
and/or sexual relationships where one member of the University community has
supervisory or other evaluative responsibility for the other create conflicts
of interest and perceptions of undue advantage because of the inherent power
imbalance between the two parties.
There are also special risks in any sexual or
romantic relationship between individuals in inherently unequal positions of power
(such as teacher and student, supervisor and employee). Such relationships may undermine the real or
perceived integrity of the supervision and evaluation provided, and the trust
inherent particularly in the student-faculty relationship. They may, moreover, be less consensual than
the individual whose position confers power believes. The relationship is likely to be perceived in
different ways by each of the parties to it, especially in retrospect.
Moreover,
such relationships may harm or injure others in the academic or work
environment. Relationships in which one party is in a position to review the
work or influence the career of the other may provide grounds for complaint
when that relationship gives, or creates the appearance of, undue access or
advantage to the person involved in the relationship, or when it restricts
opportunities or creates a hostile environment for others.
Such
relationships also have the potential for other adverse consequences, including
the filing of charges of sexual harassment and/or retaliation under the
University’s Policy on Sexual Harassment if, for example, one party to the
relationship wishes to terminate the relationship to the other party’s
objection. In those circumstances when
sexual harassment is alleged as the result of a romantic and/or sexual relationship,
the existence of the relationship is not a per se violation of the Policy on
Sexual Harassment,
This
policy applies to consensual romantic and/or sexual relationships between
individuals of the same sex or of the opposite sex.
Annotation: The committee separated the Policy on
Consensual Relationships and the Policy on Sexual Harassment, and rewrote the
Rationale in this policy, with the goal of clarifying that the principle
underlying the Policy on Consensual Relationships is the avoidance of a
conflict of interest which is inherent in such relationships. Although a consensual relationship may lead
to a claim of sexual harassment, the prohibition on consensual relationships is
not based on the prohibition of sexual harassment. The principles underlying the two policies
are distinct. The committee also sought
to strengthen the Rationale.
II. PROHIBITED RELATIONSHIPS – POLICY STATEMENT
For the foregoing reasons, all romantic and/or
sexual relationships between faculty and students in the instructional context
are prohibited at the University of Iowa.
No
faculty member shall have a romantic and/or sexual relationship, consensual or
otherwise, with a student who is enrolled in a course being taught by the
faculty member or whose academic work is being supervised, directly or
indirectly, by the faculty member.
For definitions of “faculty” and “instructional context,” please refer
to §IV
below.
Annotation: The title of this section and the next were
amended to make it clearer to the reader that relationships that are prohibited
are covered in this section, whereas relationships that are discouraged
are covered in the next section. The
first sentence was added to provide a clear, strong statement describing what
types of relationships are prohibited.
In the second paragraph, and throughout the policy, the word “amorous”
has been replaced with “romantic and/or sexual” to provide clarity as to what
types of relationships are covered. The
reference to teaching assistants was deleted in this section because it is
included in the full definition in Section V.
“Directly or indirectly” was added to be clear that any type of academic
supervision is included.
III. DISCOURAGED RELATIONSHIPS REQUIRING
DISCLOSURE AND MANAGEMENT
In light of the potential for apparent and actual
conflicts of interest, the following relationships are strongly discouraged at the University of Iowa;
where they
such relationships arise, however,
they are required to be disclosed and managed as indicated below:
a. Between faculty and students:
Outside of the instructional
context, a faculty member who engages in a romantic or sexual relationship with
a student must promptly disclose the existence of the relationship to his or
her immediate supervisor if there exists a reasonable possibility that a
conflict of interest may arise. When a
conflict of interest exists or is likely to arise, such relationships appear to
others to be exploitative of or create apparent advantage for the student, and
may later develop into conflicts of interest prohibited by §II above in
situations that cannot be anticipated fully.
A potential conflict of
interest exists when the student is a graduate student in the same department
or academic program as the faculty member, or is an undergraduate student and
is majoring or minoring in the same department as the faculty member. A
conflict of interest also may arise if the student is studying in a department
separate from the faculty member. When a
potential conflict of interest
exists or is reasonably likely to
arise, the faculty member must promptly disclose the relationship to his or her
supervisor.
Once the relationship is
disclosed, the immediate supervisor will evaluate the situation to determine
whether an actual conflict of interest exists or is likely to arise and will develop a management plan
to address the potential conflict of interest. The faculty member has the
professional and ethical responsibility to remove himself or herself from any
decisions that may reward or penalize the student involved and otherwise adhere
to the management plan.
b. Between staff members and students:
Romantic and/or sexual
relationships between staff members and students employed under their
supervision are governed by the University of Iowa Policy on Conflict of
Interest in Employment (University Operations Manual III.8). (Relationships
between faculty and staff members where one faculty or staff member supervises
the other are also governed by that policy.).
It may sometimes be difficult to distinguish determine whether
the staff-student relationship exists in an employment or in an instructional
context. Where such an ambiguity exists,
the context will be assumed to be instructional and the relationship subject to
the prohibition set forth in §II above.
[Relationships between faculty members, between faculty and staff, or between staff members, where one
person supervises the other, are also governed by The
University of Iowa Policy on Conflict of Interest in Employment, University
Operations Manual III.8.]
Annotation: This section was rewritten to provide more
clarity as to what specific relationships are prohibited. In addition, this section now requires a
faculty member in such a relationship to disclose the existence of the
relationship to his or her immediate supervisor, so that the supervisor may
devise a plan to avoid any potential conflicts of interest. The former policy only instructed the faculty
member to withdraw from participation in decisions concerning the student
involved without requiring disclosure of the existence of the
relationship. The committee believes
that outside disclosure and management of the situation better ensures the
avoidance of conflicts of interest.
IV. EXAMPLES OF PROHIBITED AND
DISCOURAGED RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN
FACULTY AND
STUDENTS
1) Student B is in a class
taught by Professor A. The Consensual
Relationships Policy prohibits a romantic or sexual relationship between these
two parties in the instructional context.
When the class has concluded and Professor A has submitted the final
grades, this policy may continue to prohibit Professor A from engaging in a
romantic or sexual relationship with Student B, or may discourage such a relationship,
depending upon the academic affiliation of Student B and the likelihood that a
conflict of interest may arise.
2) Professor A and Student B, a
graduate student in Professor A’s department, are involved in a romantic
relationship. This policy prohibits
Professor A from teaching and supervising Student B, and mandates disclosure
and management of the any potential
conflict of interest.
3) The partner of Professor A
enrolls in an academic program at the University offered by the same college in
which Professor A’s department is located.
If the partner enrolls in the same
academic program or department as Professor A, this policy requires
Professor A to disclose the relationship and that any potential conflict of
interest be managed to ensure that Professor A does not teach or supervise the
partner, or involve himself or herself in any decision that may reward or
penalize the partner. If the partner’s
academic program operates independently
of Professor A’s department, Professor A would not be required to disclose the
relationship unless the potential for a conflict of interest might
arise.
4) Graduate Student C and
Graduate Student D are married and enrolled in the same academic program. This policy prohibits D from enrolling in a
class taught by C (as instructor, teaching assistant, or grader) and
vice-versa. If C (or D) were to complete
his or her graduate program and acquire the status of faculty member (such as
adjunct professor, visiting professor, or assistant professor) in the same
department, this policy would apply as in Example 2. C would be required to disclose the
relationship to the DEO and remove himself or herself from any decisions that
may reward or penalize Graduate Student D.
Annotation: The committee formulated this list of examples
to provide further definition and clarity with regard to how the policy applies
in particular circumstances.
V. DEFINITIONS
For the purposes of this policy, the terms set forth
below are defined as follows:
a. Faculty or faculty member means all those who teach
at the University, and includes graduate students with teaching
responsibilities and other instructional personnel. This term also includes faculty, staff members, and graduate assistants whose duties include supervision or
evaluation of a student’s academic work.
b. Instructional or instructional context means a context
that involves academic instruction or evaluation or supervision, direct or
indirect, of a student’s academic work.
These terms also include employment situations where the primary
motivation for participation by the employee is instructional. Such situations include, but are not limited
to, the employment of medical residents, teaching assistants, and student
research assistants.
Annotation: The first sentence of the faculty/faculty
member definition was taken from the former definition. The second sentence was added to include
others who are not ordinarily considered faculty but who are involved in
supervising a student’s academic work.
Since the policy’s prohibition centers on relationships in the
“instructional context,” it was necessary to provide a specific definition of
that term.
1. Who may file bring a
complaint
A complaint alleging a
violation of this Policy may be filed brought by any
person. “Any person” includes, but is
not limited to, any third party who believes that a conflict exists or that he
or she may be or may have been disadvantaged by virtue of the existence of a
romantic and/or sexual relationship prohibited by this Policy. The process may also be initiated by the
Office of the Provost of the University (for relationships involving faculty),
by the Office of the Vice President for Finance and University Services (for
relationships involving staff), or by the Office of Affirmative Action, or by
the designee of any of those offices.
Consensual relationships that are terminated by one party to the
objection of the other party may also lead to separate claims of sexual harassment
which may be filed brought pursuant to
the procedures outlined in the Policy on Sexual Harassment.
2. Where to fileto bring a
complaint
Complaints alleging a
violation of this Policy are to be filed withbrought to and
investigated by the Office of Affirmative Action consistent with the
requirements and provisions for complaints broughtfiled
pursuant to the University of Iowa Policy on Sexual Harassment (University
Operations Manual II.4) and the procedures applicable to complaints filed brought under
that Policy (University Operations Manual II.5).
3. Process for taking formal
disciplinary action
The Office of Affirmative
Action will investigate the complaint, giving
both the complainant and respondent an opportunity to be heard, and make a
finding as to whether there is a reasonable basis to believe there has been a
violation of this Policy.
In those cases where the charged partyrespondent
is a faculty member, the Office of
the Provost will review the finding of the Office of Affirmative Action and
will determine whether formal disciplinary action will be pursued.
In those cases where the charged partyrespondent
is a staff member whose duties include supervision or evaluation of a student’s
academic work, the decision to pursue formal disciplinary action, as well as the decision regarding the formal disciplinary action to be pursued, will be made by
the Provost in consultation with the vice president responsible for the unit
employing the charged staff member.
In those cases where the
respondent is a graduate assistant, the decision to pursue formal disciplihary
action, as well as the decision regarding the formal disciplinary action to be
pursued, will be made by the Dean of the Graduate College or that person’s designee.
Potential formal disciplinary actions that
may be taken when this Policy is violated include, but
are not limited to, the following:
mandatory education or training, verbal warning, written warning,
suspension, termination, or a combination of the above.
4. Applicable procedures
Except as specifically modified by other provisions
of this Policy,aappeal of proposed disciplinary
actions resulting from violations of this Policy by:
(a) pPersons holding
faculty appointments will be governed by the Faculty Dispute Procedures
(University Operations Manual III.29) and the portion of the Procedures dealing
with faculty ethics (University Operations Manual III.15).
(b) pProfessional and Sscientific
staff members will be governed by the Policy Establishing Grievance Procedures
for Professional and Scientific Personnel (University Operations Manual
III.28.4).
(c) gGraduate assistants, when
dismissal is sought, will be governed by the Graduate Assistant
Dismissal Procedure (University Operations Manual III.12.4).
When disciplinary action other than dismissal is taken by the Dean of
the Graduate College, a graduate assistant may appeal through any existing
contractual grievance procedures.
(d) sStaff under union
contract will be governed by the relevant contract.
Annotation: Because the Policy on Consensual
Relationships has been separated from the Policy on Sexual Harassment, it was
necessary to develop written procedures for making complaints. The policy allows any person to make a
complaint, and specifically includes third parties or specific University
officials. The rationale for allowing
third party complaints is to encourage concerns to be brought forward so that
each situation may be handled appropriately to avoid conflicts of
interest. The investigation of
complaints and the process for initiating discipline mirror those processes in
the Policy on Sexual Harassment.
jw/sh/CR DRAFT 04-03-01 FINAL11-08-00