The University of Oxford has banned intimate relationships between staff and their students.
The institution will implement the new rule from April 17, after reviewing the previous policy of “strongly discouraging” relations.
Employees are also encouraged not to engage in other close personal associations that might be considered outside of “professional conduct”.
The policy states that those who do not comply will face disciplinary action.
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In the past, relationships between a staff member and a student were allowed and had to be reported to a line manager.
However, the university has joined institutions such as University College London and the University of Nottingham in announcing that intimate relationships will be banned.
The organization spent months developing the policy and said it took extensive advice.
It told the BBC that any existing relationships would be treated by avoiding conflicts of interest.
This would mean that the university would ensure that a staff member does not bear or assume responsibility for a student with whom they have an intimate or close personal relationship.
The University of Oxford added the policy was not in response to the recent consultation by the Office for Students, which is investigating new regulations for universities to tackle on-campus harassment and sexual misconduct.
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