Faculty Handbook 2007-2008

A dual relationship is one in which a faculty/staff member has both a professional and a romantic or sexual relationship with a student. This includes those relationships that appear to involve genuinely mutual consent. Given the inherent inequality of power between student and faculty/staff, there are numerous factors that can greatly complicate a dual relationship. It is clear, for example, that such dual relationships undermine professional integrity in supervisory, educational and advisory contexts. For this reason, dual relationships are not acceptable. If a faculty/staff member engages in such a relationship, he/she must at the very least divest himself/herself of supervisory, educational or advisory responsibility for that student. If the faculty/staff member chooses not to take this step, other options must be pursued. Such other options include: the resignation of the faculty/staff member, an extended leave of absence until the student has graduated, or the transfer of the student to another institution. Otherwise, a continuing relationship will be considered as the basis for disciplinary action on grounds of moral delinquency or professional incompetence. Given the inherent inequality of a dual relationship, what may appear to one participant as totally voluntary may in fact entail exploitation; thus, the Harassment Grievance Committee will not accept a defense against subsequent charges on grounds of the relationship being consenting.