Conflict of Interest

Conditions under which staff may become students are stated in the Collective Bargaining Agreements of the University of Regina Faculty Association (URFA), the Administrative Professional and Technical (APT) Employees Bargaining Unit and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).

The perception of a possibility of, or the occurrence of, a conflict of interest is considered to be a major threat to the integrity of a graduate program. It is the responsibility of a prospective candidate to declare this prior to entering a graduate program, or if not evident until after that point, as soon as it becomes evident.

Declaring a Conflict of Interest

If reasonable remedies to avoid or minimize a possible conflict of interest are not found, the Dean may rule to reject an application.

If this situation arises after an applicant has been accepted as a candidate for a graduate program, and ways of avoiding or offsetting a conflict of interest are not found, the Dean may decide to implement remedies that could include discontinuation of the student's program at this University.

Examples of conflict of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

• A relationship with a candidate that parallels or could compromise a fair and impartial review
• A person employed by an academic unit should not take courses or a degree program in that unit
• Similarly, a person taking a graduate program in an academic unit should not become a full-time employee in that unit until the program of studies has been successfully completed or formally terminated

Such an arrangement might, under certain circumstances, be regarded as acceptable in the case of a support staff member, however, the situation would be regarded as unacceptable for a faculty position.

Exemptions

Exemptions from these terms include those employees/candidates who are not full-time or are hired full-time on an interim (i.e. semester) basis. For example, graduate teaching assistants, and department research and teaching assistants would normally be exempt from review according to the terms of this policy.