Consensual romantic relationships between members of the University community are prohibited when one participant has evaluative or supervisory authority over the other. Such prohibited relationships include supervisory relationships between an employee (faculty, staff or student) and a student, as well as between a supervisor (faculty, staff or student) and a subordinate.
Implicit in the idea of professionalism is the recognition by those in positions of authority that in their relationships with students there is always an element of power. It is incumbent upon members of the profession not to abuse, nor seem to abuse the power with which they are entrusted, since relationships between members of the profession and their students are quite imbalanced. Such relationships may have the effect of undermining the atmosphere of trust among students and instructors on which the educational process depends.
Additional information about consensual romantic relationships is available in the University of Missouri’s Collected Rules and Regulations.