Safeguards for Students Engaged in Directed Research Activities

All students engaged in directed research must be insulated from commercial pressures, in particular stemming from situations presenting potential conflicts of interest. Unimpeded progress of graduate students toward their degrees and professional goals must have the highest priority.

This can sometimes come into conflict with the desire of research sponsors to delay publication for an unreasonably long period or to shape the research so that it serves proprietary rather than scholarly goals. Management plans should suggest ways by which students may be insulated from such pressures, including the further use of existing structures and procedures to monitor and avoid misdirection. Management plans may:

- Provide students with full disclosure, in writing, of the professional activities and relationships with external entities prior to initiating their research responsibilities.
- Create solutions with the student advisee
- Inform students that the Director of Graduate Studies and the Department Head are available for consultation at any time
- Consider the impact of potential conflicts of interest from the students' perspective prior to engaging students/advisees as employees in an external entity
- Anticipate potential issues related to the handling of the students' examination committees, e.g., form student thesis committees early, and convene periodically
- Arrange an independent review of students' thesis projects by the Director of Graduate Studies, or, in some special cases, designate other faculty members as thesis co-advisors
- Advise students to consider a balance of interests when selecting thesis committees and make appropriate suggestions for outside people, DGS, resource people, etc.

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