Conflicts of Interest Conflicts of interest between graduate students and faculty members may arise in a variety of ways. Problems that can occur when the research of a graduate student is inadequately acknowledged by faculty either by failure to footnote properly or to give coauthorship credit have already been mentioned. But another set of professional interpersonal relationships must be handled with great care if the integrity of graduate study is to be preserved. As continuing formal education becomes more common and as academics begin to become involved in the world of business, the possibility of a business relationship between student and teacher becomes greater. The kind of conflict of interest that may arise through nepotism, that is, when a person serves in an administrative or supervisory relationship to those who are related to him or her by blood or marriage, is familiar to everyone.
Most universities have rules that try to regulate professional relationships in such cases.
Many faculty members are reluctant to have their own sons, daughters, or spouses take their courses for credit on the grounds that such students may be perceived by others to have an unfair advantage. A business relationship, including a consulting one, must evoke the same kind of caution. And a student should be careful about working for a company owned or administered by faculty involved in the student's degree work. Similarly, a student should not date an instructor while the student is enrolled in the instructor's course. If such a relationship should develop, the instructor must take appropriate steps to resolve any potential conflict of interest.