No faculty or staff member shall make a decision or participate in making a decision related to a student in which they have or could be perceived to have a conflict of interest.
Conflict of Interest
A person has a conflict of interest when they know, or should reasonably know, that they have or could be perceived to have, an opportunity to exercise an official power, duty or function that furthers their personal interests or those of their friends, relatives, associates, or partners in their role at AGPS.
Some examples of Conflict of Interest
Conflict of interest situations can include but are not limited to the following.
- If a faculty member has a personal professional relationship with a student outside of their normal teaching duties, such as supervising a practicum placement, while they are teaching and assessing that student in regular classes, they have a conflict of interest with regard to that student
- Faculty benefiting financially from student practicum placement through owning, operating or being employed in a professional capacity by a practicum placement site, while being in a position to make decisions related to students and especially students in practicum, is in a conflict of interest.
- A faculty member who participates in an investigation into a complaint against a student they have supervised in the MRP/Thesis Program or are currently teaching would be in a conflict of interest.
- A faculty member in a position where they may be making decisions about students who has a financial, non-academic, personal, or familial relationship with a student would be in a conflict of interest.
Academic Freedom and Freedom of Expression
As an academic institution, ADLER must foster an environment of truth and a furthering of knowledge in the community. As an institution offering professional degrees, the school must also prepare students for professional practice in a registered profession, which has a code of ethical behaviour.
At ADLER, students and faculty have a right to learn and teach without interference and to question, investigate and research any subject matter, regardless of controversy, discomfort, or offence, as long as it meets the standards for student conduct and public law.
Academic freedom can conflict with the rights and freedoms of others, and as an institution, ADLER reserves the right to resolve conflicts of rights using the following principles.
- Students and faculty must exercise their academic freedom with respect, civility and intellectual rigour and integrity.
- Students and faculty may not engage in research, speech, or other publication methods that are prohibited by law, including but not limited to slander or hate speech.
Students and faculty may not engage in activities prohibited by the Student Code of Conduct or Discrimination and Harassment Policy requirements regarding:
- Not causing harming or threatening harm to others.
- Not disrupting the normal activities of the school or intending to disrupt teaching and learning for others after appropriate warnings have been given.
Freedom of Expression
Freedom of Expression, as defined in The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, applies to the actions of governments in Canada and not to the actions of private organizations such as Adler Graduate Professional School. AGPS strives to create policy in the spirit of the Freedom of Expression laws but reserves the right to define standards for conduct and communication within the ADLER Community.