University watchdog floats staff-student relationship ban

BBC News 25 February 2023

Relationships between staff and students should be documented or banned, England's universities regulator has proposed, writes Hazel Shearing for BBC News.

Draft plans from the Office for Students (OfS) centre on relationships where the staff member has responsibilities toward the student. The plans form part of a consultation on tackling harassment and sexual misconduct, which runs until May.

The OfS, which regulates universities in England, said harassment and sexual misconduct were “serious issues” in English higher education. It said standards for universities and colleges to follow on a voluntary basis, set out in 2021, had resulted in “some improvements”. However, it concluded that practices varied across the sector, and reported incidents were not always followed up formally.
Full report on the BBC site

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