Codes, Policies, and Students' Rights

Code of Student Life

University Policy on Human Rights

Student Complaints Concerning Faculty Actions

Although there is some variation among colleges, these mechanisms generally involve the following steps.

The student should first attempt to resolve the issue with the faculty member involved.

Lacking a satisfactory outcome, the student should turn to the departmental executive officer, if there is one.

If a satisfactory outcome still is not obtained, the student may take the matter to the collegiate dean.

Graduate students should consult with the associate dean for academic affairs in the Graduate College concerning methods for resolving complaints.

If a student's complaint concerning a faculty action cannot be resolved through the informal mechanisms available, the student may file a formal complaint, which will be handled under procedures established for dealing with alleged violations of the "Statement on Professional Ethics and Academic Responsibility," as specified in section III-15 of the University Operations Manual. A description of these formal procedures, found in section III-29 of the University Operations Manual, can be obtained from each college dean's office; the University ombudsperson's office and collegiate ombudspersons' offices; the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Office of Academic Programs; or the Academic Advising Center.

Generally, academic complaints filed by graduate students are resolved without respect to the grievant's employment status.

A student dissatisfied with the outcome of an academic complaint against a faculty member at the departmental and collegiate levels may ask the Office of the Provost to review the matter.

University Ombudsperson

The ombudsperson's office is an independent entity. It reports only to the University President. It treats all requests and consultations in strict confidence. It will not divulge a visitor's name or the nature of his or her complaint without the visitor's consent.

Before consulting the ombudsperson, students, staff, and faculty may try to resolve their problems by following procedures outlined by University rules and policies. Where practical, faculty and staff members should discuss problems with department chairs and/or supervisors; students should follow procedures in the handout Policies and Regulations Affecting Students. Students, staff, and faculty may wish to consult the appropriate academic adviser, department head, supervisor, chair, dean, or other administrator before contacting the ombudsperson. They may consult the ombudsperson at the outset, however, if use of official channels would result in lengthy and damaging delays or a lack of confidentiality and/or impartiality.

Sexual Harassment, Consensual Relationships

Following are excerpts from the University "Policy on Sexual Harassment" and "Policy on Consensual Relationships," which are printed in full in the booklet Policies and Regulations Affecting Students and are available on the Office of Affirmative Action web site.

Policy on Sexual Harassment

RATIONALE

(b) Sexual harassment is especially serious when it threatens relationships between teacher and student or supervisor and subordinate. In such situations, sexual harassment unfairly exploits the power inherent in a faculty member's or supervisor's position. A supervisor's or instructor's control of grades, compensation, recommendations, promotion, and the like, can have a decisive influence on a student's, staff member's, or faculty member's career at the University and beyond.

(c) Although sexual harassment most often takes place in situations where a power differential exists between the persons involved, the University also recognizes that sexual harassment may occur between persons of the same University status, or when the power relationship is reversed from the usual case. Sexual harassment may occur between individuals of opposite sex or between individuals of the same sex. The University will not tolerate behavior of a sexual nature by members of the University community that creates an intimidating or hostile environment for employment, education, on-campus living, or participation in a University activity.

PROHIBITED ACTS

(a) Definition of Sexual Harassment

For the purposes of this policy, "sexual harassment" means persistent, repetitive, or egregious conduct directed at a specific individual or group of individuals that a reasonable person would interpret, in the full context in which the conduct occurs, as harassment of a sexual nature, when:

(1) Submission to such conduct is made or threatened to be made explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of employment, education, on-campus living environment, or participation in a University activity;

(2) Submission to or rejection of such conduct is used or threatened to be used as a basis for a decision affecting employment, education, on-campus living environment, or participation in a University activity; or

(3) Such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with work or educational performance, or of creating an intimidating or hostile environment for employment, education, on-campus living, or participation in a University activity.

Policy on Consensual Relationships

RATIONALE

Romantic and/or sexual relationships where one member of the University community has evaluative responsibility for the other create conflicts of interest and perceptions of undue advantage. There are also special risks in any sexual or romantic relationship between individuals in inherently unequal positions of power (such as teacher and student). Such relationships may undermine the real or perceived integrity of the 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.

PROHIBITED RELATIONSHIPS

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.

DISCOURAGED RELATIONSHIPS

Between faculty and students: Outside of the instructional context, a faculty member (including graduate students with teaching responsibilities) 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.