Conduct

Professional Conduct

FAS Professional Conduct Policy for conduct that occurred on or after September 1, 2023
 

Individuals in a position of authority holding academic appointments in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences[1]​​​​​​​ (hereinafter referred to as “Faculty” or “Faculty Members”) have an obligation to uphold the highest standards of professionalism and integrity in their interactions with all members of the Harvard community, including faculty colleagues, students, persons holding research appointments (e.g., postdoctoral fellows), and staff members. Faculty Members are expected to abide by the FAS Professional Conduct Policy:
1) on-campus at all times, and
2) off-campus when they are representing the University in any professional capacity (e.g., leading a group of researchers in the field; attending an academic conference or University-related or University-funded social or extracurricular activities).

In both circumstances, this policy also applies to Faculty Members’ actions in any electronic or digital medium.

​​​​​​​Any current or former member of the Harvard community may bring concerns about an FAS Faculty Member to the FAS Office for Faculty Affairs (“OFA”). Bringing a concern to the attention of OFA does not automatically launch a formal investigation or mediated resolution. OFA may, in its discretion, deem it appropriate to implement supportive measures (as outlined below), regardless of whether it launches a mediated resolution or formal investigation.

 

1. Anti-Bullying and Non-Discrimination

Faculty Members are subject to the Harvard University Anti-Bullying and Non-Discrimination Policies and Procedures.[2]

 

2. Professional Behavior and Judgement

Faculty must avoid behaviors which display a pattern of extreme negligence or poor professional judgment that endangers the health, safety, or well-being of any person or group, or unreasonably interferes with a person’s or group’s ability to perform University duties or undertake their course of education or training.

3. Appropriate Engagement of Community Members

Faculty members may not use their positions to obtain services for which individuals are not compensated. This includes, but is not limited to, requiring staff under their direction to perform services or duties unrelated to or outside their professional/job responsibilities. In addition, Faculty Members must contact their department/unit administrator before they engage an individual to assist with research or other services related to their role as a Faculty Member to ensure compliance with Harvard policies and labor laws.

4. Confidentiality

Faculty Members must uphold confidentiality in matters pertaining to student and employee files and records, which could reasonably be considered confidential. This could include employment information, employee records, or student application materials.​​​​​​​[3]

 

5. Non-Retaliation

Faculty Members must abide by Harvard University's Non-Retaliation Policy.

 

6. Compliance with other policies and laws

  1. Members must comply with all applicable laws, rules, regulations, and professional standards, including FAS policies and practices; this includes, but is not limited to, policies regarding discrimination, and sexual and gender-based harassment. In addition,
    a) Members should not undertake unauthorized use of University resources or facilities on a significant scale for personal, commercial, political, or religious purposes.
    b) Members should not commit forgery, alteration, misuse of University documents, records, or identification, or knowingly furnishing false information to the University.
    c) Conviction of a felony that is clearly related to performance of University duties is a violation of this policy.

Additional information about the FAS Professional Conduct Policy can be found here:  https://academic-appointments.fas.harvard.edu/f-sexual-harassment-and-unprofessional-conduct

FAS Professional Conduct Policy for conduct that occurred prior to September 1, 2023

FAS Faculty members (‘Faculty’ or ‘Faculty Members’) hold positions of authority and trust at FAS. As such, they have an obligation to uphold the highest standards of professionalism and integrity in their interactions with all members of the FAS community, including Faculty colleagues, students, persons holding research appointments (e.g., postdoctoral fellows), and staff members. In keeping with this role:

a.  Faculty should treat members of the FAS community with respect and collegiality.
 b.  Faculty members should not use their positions to obtain uncompensated labor from any member of the community under their supervision. This includes, but is not limited to, requiring staff under their direction to perform services or duties unrelated to or outside their professional/job responsibilities.
 c.  Faculty members must uphold confidentiality in matters pertaining to employee files, records, or activities, which could reasonably be considered confidential. This could include employment information or employee records.
 d.  Faculty must comply with all applicable laws, rules, regulations, and professional standards including FAS policies and practices; this includes, but is not limited to, policies regarding discrimination and sexual and gender-based harassment.

Non-compliance with these guidelines will be communicated to the Edgerley Family Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and could result in varying sanctions.

Student Union Agreement

As noted on page 15 of the  Harvard University’s agreement with the Harvard Graduate Students Union: "Abusive or intimidating behavior (power-based harassment) by individuals who hold supervisory authority over SWs, when such conduct interferes with or limits a person’s ability to participate in, or benefit from their employment at the University is prohibited." In addition, the Academic Retaliation Policy states that "If a student is engaging in conduct protected by the HGSU-UAW bargaining agreement, or if they are participating in any investigation or proceeding arising under the agreement, it is unacceptable and prohibited to use an academic assessment or other academic actions as a means to retaliate against that student’s protected conduct."
 
Faculty Council Discussion Document

The following text was approved by the Faculty Council for distribution to the full Faculty, not as a codification of official institutional policy but as a "discussion document" to be used as a point of reference. An earlier version of this text was discussed at the Faculty Meeting of October 17, 1995.

The secret of education lies in respecting the pupil. −Emerson

The importance of professional conduct within the academic community is self-evident, but what precisely is meant by the phrase is not. For "professional conduct" covers a multitude of situations. No single style or method of teaching guarantees it; a teacher may be appropriately professional whether meeting students at a café or in an office, whether by nature gregarious and sociable, or shy and reserved. Yet there are principles underlying the concept, that allow it to be honored when present and deplored when absent. In a university setting, professional conduct rests upon an enduring respect for fellow human beings and for the vocation of teaching, and a recognition that a teacher’s powers and responsibilities must not be abused. The basic principles may be easier to appreciate abstractly than to apply while teaching.
 
The list that follows is designed to bring these principles into focus as a basis for discussion among and between Faculty, teaching fellows, and other instructional support staff.

Issues for Consideration

Authority
By virtue of their authority within the academic community, teachers have the power to influence thought and behavior, and the concomitant responsibility to recognize the potential weight of their verbal and nonverbal expressions. As leaders in the classroom, teachers have the responsibility not only to impart the excitement of ideas and the challenge of academic debate, but also the importance of courtesy and respect in intellectual dialogue.

Fair Treatment of All Students
Students should be treated even-handedly. Equity is not necessarily achieved, however, by treating all students in precisely the same way. For example, some students respond positively to hearty, well-intoned criticism while others are discouraged by it. Some students welcome public comments about their work, while others are embarrassed by them. Genuinely even-handed treatment of students depends upon making a conscientious attempt to recognize and appreciate such differences. Teachers (and students) should guard particularly against ethnic, religious, sexual, and other discriminatory stereotyping.

Interpersonal Relations
The power teachers exercise over students to penalize or reward in the form of grades and recommendations requires caution in interpersonal interactions, and the need to avoid the kind of familiarity that compromises objective and fair evaluation of a student’s work. Within these limits, however, intellectual mentoring and friendly interaction are important elements of the learning and teaching process. 

Interpersonal Relations – Sexual Harassment and Misconduct Policy*
As noted in the Interim FAS Policies and Procedures Addressing Sexual and Gender-Based Harassment and Other Sexual Misconduct, “No FAS Faculty member shall request or accept sexual favors from or initiate or engage in a romantic or sexual relationship with, any undergraduate student at Harvard College. Faculty members are defined as ladder, non-ladder, and visiting Faculty. Furthermore, no FAS Faculty member, instructor, teaching assistant, teaching fellow, researcher, tutor, graduate student, or undergraduate course assistant, shall request or accept sexual favors from, or initiate or engage in a romantic or sexual relationship with, any student, including a graduate student or DCE student, who is enrolled in a course taught by that individual or otherwise subject to that individual’s academic supervision before the supervision has concluded and, if applicable, a final grade on the student’s supervised academic performance has been submitted to the Registrar. Academic supervision includes teaching, advising a thesis or dissertation, supervising research, supervising teaching, grading, or serving as Director of Undergraduate or Graduate Studies of the student’s academic program. In addition, no resident tutor or freshman proctor shall request or accept sexual favors from, or initiate or engage in a romantic or sexual relationship with, any undergraduate student at Harvard College.”

* This section regarding interpersonal relations and Title IX, while not part of the original document approved by Faculty Council, is provided here to reflect the FAS’s current policies on sexual and gender-based harassment and other sexual misconduct.

Clear Communication
Because the evaluation of students partly depends on their understanding of the requirements of a course, course heads should be clear in their articulation of expectations, assignments, and the rules of collaboration and citation. Providing written explanations of assignments and requirements reduces the risk of misunderstanding. Students have a right to expect prompt return of papers and exams and a clear justification of evaluation, just as instructors have the right to expect that assignments will be thoughtfully completed on time. 

Classroom Engagement
The classroom is frequently the site of intense intellectual debate—or, alternatively, unbearable silence. Maintaining an environment for a constructive contest between ideas and their supporting evidence is primarily the responsibility of the teacher. Teachers should be aware of any tendency to favor one mode of argument over another, in which only certain students thrive; of the importance of listening attentively and with respect; and of the significance of nonverbal clues (nods, frowns, gestures, etc.). 

Services

Criticism of Work
Comments should be directed at the work, not the person; and they should contribute to the refinement of both thinking and presentation. Peremptory dismissiveness is not appropriate.

Grades
Professors are responsible for the oversight of all grades given by teaching fellows.

Letters of Recommendation
Students depend on instructors for letters of recommendation. Honesty and fairness in responding to requests for recommendations are essential.

Advising
Access to advising should be offered and equally afforded to all.

Confidentiality and Discretion
Teachers are privy to information (and opinions) about students that ought to remain confidential. Exceptions should be made only as necessary, e.g., in Title IX situations or emergencies such as threat of suicide or other harmful behavior, when confidentiality is secondary to a student’s welfare. Beyond such exceptions, talking with colleagues or other students about confidential student information is inappropriate, as is any form of public embarrassment or shaming of a student.

Confidentiality regarding Sexual Harassment and Misconduct Policy *
As noted in the Interim FAS Policies and Procedures Addressing Sexual and Gender-Based Harassment and Other Sexual Misconduct, “Consistent with University policies, the FAS officers, other than those who are prohibited from making such notifications because of a legal confidentiality obligation, must promptly notify the relevant Title IX Resource Coordinator(s) about possible sexual harassment or other sexual misconduct. This means that if those FAS officers learn about a possible incident of sexual harassment or other sexual misconduct, they need to contact an FAS Title IX Resource Coordinator, who will know what steps, if any, to take next (including which other Title IX Resource Coordinators should be notified). Such FAS officers include (but are not limited to): deans; administrative and professional staff; those responsible for residential life (for example, Faculty Deans, Resident Deans, Resident and Non-Resident Tutors, Resident Advisors and Proctors); coaches and assistant coaches; other personnel who work directly with students, such as those who work with student clubs and organizations, career services, academic support, and others; and Faculty, instructors, teaching assistants, and others who teach students, including graduate student teaching fellows.” 

For more information, please see section IV, “Information Sharing and Confidentiality,” in the Interim FAS Policies and Procedures Addressing Sexual and Gender-Based Harassment and Other Sexual Misconduct.

* This section on confidentiality regarding Title IX, while not part of the original document approved by Faculty Council, is provided here to reflect the FAS’s current policies on sexual and gender-based harassment and other sexual misconduct.

Collegial Conduct
Status differences exist within the teaching staff of every university. Awareness of the relative positions of colleagues in the academic hierarchy may avoid placing them in awkward or compromising situations. The implications of making particular requests of one’s juniors ought to be considered before making them; the right to refuse, for reasonable cause, without consequence, ought to be guaranteed every member of the community. Professional and research opportunities should be awarded with equity and fairness.

In addition to the Faculty Council’s text above, please note:

Interactions with Minors
Members of the Harvard community who interact with minors (i.e., individuals under the age of 18) in any official capacity are expected to foster and maintain an appropriate and secure environment for minors. Please see Harvard University’s Policy for the Safety and Protection of Minors for more information.

Other Sources of Information

Please see the section on Sexual Harassment in this chapter for more information on FAS policies and procedures related to sexual harassment and other misconduct.
 

[1] Tenured Professors, Associate Professors, Assistant Professors, full- and part-time Professors of the Practice, Professors in Residence, Senior Lecturers, Senior Preceptors, Benjamin Peirce Fellows, Briggs-Copeland Lecturers, Associate Senior Lecturers, Lecturers, Preceptors, College Fellows, Visiting Faculty, Emeriti Faculty, Teaching Assistants, Teaching Fellows, Fellows, Post-Doctoral Fellows, Research Associates, Research Fellows, Research Scientists, Senior Research Scientists, Senior Research Fellows and Visiting Scholars.

[2] For example, no faculty member should suggest that they were the reason that a student was admitted to a program, in such a way that the student feels unduly obligated to that faculty member and/or their academic advancement or education is impeded.