New restrictions on staff-student relationships being recommended by?the English regulator are indicative of a?wider ¡°shift in?approach¡± in?how universities are addressing sexual misconduct issues, academics said.

The Office for Students (OfS) has released guidance steering universities towards banning all?staff-student relationships, surprising many in?the sector who had instead expected the regulator to?introduce a?requirement that all such connections be?registered.

¡°Not only have the OfS recommended a ban, but they have changed the wording around these relationships from being about ¡®conflict of?interest¡¯ to ¡®abuse of?power¡¯¡­a?shift away from the usual culture of allowing these relationships to happen to highlighting the dangers for the victims,¡± said Alix Dietzel, senior lecturer in politics at the University of Bristol.

Although the OfS stopped short of mandating a relationship ban across all universities, Dr?Dietzel said pushback against such measures was becoming ¡°increasingly quiet¡±.

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¡°I am sure there will be some who think it is an overreaction or that they should be ¡®free¡¯ to date students ¨C but they¡¯re increasingly being challenged, so I?don¡¯t see resistance on the whole from the sector.¡±

However a of students, universities and stakeholders released alongside the guidance showed that the idea of a register was a more popular option; 62?per cent of respondents backed this idea, while only 22?per cent supported an outright ban.

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¡°I appreciate that people are often reluctant to instigate bans,¡± said Luke Brunning, lecturer in applied ethics at the University of Leeds. ¡°They can usually think of ¡®harmless cases¡¯ or cases where students are older than staff. But some form of a ban would be simpler and easier to implement and would send a clear structural message that the complications arising from staff-student relationships are recognised, serious and not?acceptable for any student to have to?experience.¡±

In particular, Dr?Brunning said, a register that would require students to disclose their sexuality or other intimate details to their institution would ¡°make it likely that some students will fail to access the mitigations they might need¡±.

Regardless of the regulation, universities have increasingly moved towards introducing bans on staff-student relationships in recent years. Some institutions, however, such as the University of Manchester, still allow such relationships.

Campus resource: Addressing sexual misconduct in higher education, part one: prevention

While Dr Brunning welcomed the guidance, he highlighted that recommendations around giving staff more training could be limited.

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¡°As it stands, I worry that some institutions will publish well-meaning generic advice which still requires students to be proactive in seeking support at a time when they might be especially vulnerable. For students with other life or health difficulties, especially mental health problems, this can be especially challenging.¡±

Cara Aitchison, who previously chaired Universities?UK¡¯s student sexual misconduct advisory group, welcomed the steps taken by the OfS. She said the guidance would help to ¡°raise standards [and] protect students¡¯ rights¡±.

¡°We have become used to criticism of the OfS as an overbearing regulator, and we need to accept that there are some areas where a regulator has a duty to protect rights and ensure responsibilities are taken seriously; sexual harassment and misconduct is surely one area where we should welcome national standards of conduct by providers and the staff employed by them,¡± said the former vice-chancellor of Cardiff Metropolitan University.

juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com