Faculty and staff code of conduct

1. This code
   1. This code is intended to guide all WU faculty and staff to identify and resolve ethical issues. It stands beside but does not exclude or replace the rights and obligations of students, faculty, and staff under the law.
   2. If formal procedures have not been established, or if faculty or staff are in doubt about any aspect of their conduct or that of others, they should raise these matters with their supervisors in the first instance. If it is the conduct of the supervisor that is the subject of concern, the matter should be taken up with the person to whom the supervisor reports.
2. Acceptance of gifts or benefits
   1. Staff may not solicit any gifts or benefits for themselves, or accept gifts or benefits that might in any way compromise or influence them in carrying out their duties, or which might reasonably be seen by others as an inducement that places a staff member under an obligation.
   2. Staff may accept gifts of nominal value, generally used for promotional purposes by the donor, or moderate acts of hospitality.
   3. Staff should send gifts of significant value to WU, where they can be acknowledged and accepted on behalf of WU.
3. Close personal relationships
   1. Close personal relationships between faculty members and students can compromise professional standards and might reasonably be seen by others to involve a breach of trust and/or a conflict of interest.
   2. Consequently, faculty members should avoid supervising or assessing students or other members of staff who are members of their family or with whom they have, or have had, a personal or other significant relationship.
   3. If it is unavoidable, supervision must be openly seen to be of the highest professional standard and neither unfairly advantaging nor disadvantaging the supervisee.
4. Confidentiality of information
   1. Faculty members and staff are required to respect individuals' rights to privacy and undertake to treat in confidence all information supplied to them on that basis.
   2. In particular, unless required by law, personal and official information (such as academic records) provided by and about staff and students must not be given to third parties without the informed written consent of the individuals concerned.
5. Conflict of interest and conflict of duty
   1. Confidence in WU is put at risk when the conduct of a faculty or staff member involves, or appear to involve, a conflict between their private interests and their duties to WU.
   2. Conflict of interest refers to any interests and actions that appear to conflict with their duties as a staff member, and may include contracts, employment, family, or other personal interests in WU. A conflict of financial interest is a situation where one could make profit out of a matter, or a situation where one could prevent the organization from gaining financially.
   3. A conflict of duty (also called an institutional conflict of interest) is a situation where one holds a position in another organization that compromises one’s role on an item of business.
   4. Faculty members and staff must:
      1. declare any actual, perceived, or potential conflict of interest or of duty as soon as it is identified and report it to their superior.
      2. withdraw from contributing to discussion and decision-making unless leave is given to participate.
      3. A superior may prohibit a staff member with a conflict of interest or of duty from receiving information on matters or participate in making decisions on them.
      4. Staff members who cannot or will not remove the conflict of interest must remove themselves from the decision-making process.
6. Harassment
   1. WU will seek to provide students, faculty members, and staff with an environment that is free from all forms of harassment and discrimination. There are penalties for non-compliance.
   2. Faculty members, and staff have an obligation to:
      1. treat each other and students with respect and, in particular, to respect the beliefs and cultural mores of others;
      2. consider the impact of their decisions on others; and
      3. refrain from acting in any way so as to, or with the intention to, unfairly harm the reputation or career prospects of other staff members and students
      4. require students to act in this way .
   3. Although internal procedures will hopefully resolve all complaints, those involved retain their right at any stage to seek the intervention of external bodies.
7. Use of WU resources
   1. Staff are expected to be efficient and economical in their use of resources, and not permit the abuse of these resources by others.
   2. WU property must not be used for private purposes unless this is approved according to WU policy.
8. Use of the WU name
   1. The use of WU's name in the promotion or advertising of commercial products will only be approved if seen to be direct benefit to WU. Faculty members and staff may not use or allow the use of the name of WU or identify themselves as staff of WU in the public promotion or advertising of commercial products without prior written approval.