HE institutions have a ‘duty of care’ when it comes to both staff and students: a duty made significantly more intricate and tangled by the campus culture involved. A hothouse of young people living away from home, many for the first time, expecting both a career and life-enhancing experience (now more ‘customers’ than students); an imbalance in power between academics and those younger people, as well as academics and support staff, and between tenured and non-tenured colleagues.
The work of Universities UK and the Office for Students has led to new standard for dealing with cases of harassment and sexual misconduct. There’s a new level of scrutiny, new expectations around the professionalism of responses — and the likelihood of increasing numbers of cases.
A sensitive and watertight approach to dealing with serious cases of conflict and misconduct has become a critical part of good HE management and making sure there’s a safe and supportive campus environment.
CMP has helped dozens of UK institutions deal with the full range of relationships issues, developing professional systems and processes to deal with crises and serious complaints, through expert advice, investigations, mediation and skills training.
