New Delhi: Harvard , America's one of the most prestigious universities, has imposed a complete ban on sexual relationship between professors and students following a review into sexual harassment policy.
The Faculty of Arts and Sciences, concluded that professors couldn't sleep with students they supervise — the rules needed to be clearer.
Earlier the school policy prohibited professors from having sex with students under their direct supervision. The policy now specifically bans undergraduates and professors from having any romantic or sexual involvements.
The review determined that the school's existing language on “relationships of unequal status” was not strong enough.
The language now explicitly bans undergrads and professors from having “romantic or sexual relationships,” regardless of whether the student is taking a course taught by that professor.
It comes at a time when top American universities went on the defensive over complaints of sexual violence on campus.
Last May, the US department of education published a list of 55 colleges and universities under federal review for allegedly mishandling sexual assault and harassment complaints.
Harvard, in the northeastern US state of Massachusetts, was on the list. The university's historic rival, Yale, prohibited sexual relations between faculty and undergraduates in 2010.
