Capping two years of debate, University of California professors overwhelmingly approved a policy yesterday that would bar romantic or sexual relationships between students and professors.

The policy, criticized by some UC professors for being overly broad and vague, forbids professors from dating their students or students they "reasonably expect" to supervise in the future. Violators of the conduct code could be disciplined, ranging from a letter of censure to dismissal.

For decades, universities have wrestled with the issue of romantic relationships between students and professors. Policies range from no dating whatsoever between instructors and students to permissible dating as long as deans are informed.

The UC policy, which is expected to be approved by the governing board of the regents at its July or September meeting, would formalize the ban against teacher-student liaisons throughout the nine-campus, 197,000-student system. Previously, UC had a no-dating resolution that carried less weight because it did not stipulate punishment.

Regents became aware of the faculty's work on a new policy in January, shortly after a former UC Berkeley law school student alleged she was sexually assaulted by a school dean. The former student alleged that Boalt Hall Dean John D. Dwyer assaulted her after she passed out following a night of drinking with Dwyer and four other law students in 2000.

Dwyer, who left Boalt in January, said the incident was consensual. The student, who has hired an attorney, graduated and passed the bar exam before filing her complaint.

Critics of the policy pose this question: Is it unequivocally wrong for professors to date their students, or is it just wrong when the relationship results in favoritism or an abuse of power? And if the relationships are only wrong under specific circumstances, why not set up procedures to address those concerns?

"It doesn't make sense to fire someone because they have engaged in the pursuit of happiness, provided they took all the steps to avoid the negative consequences," said John C. Wheeler, a chemistry professor at UC San Diego. "I think this really is an unfortunate way of dealing with what is a legitimate concern."

Wheeler said the university ought to have procedures – such as disclosing such a relationship to the chair of a department – to ease concerns of coercion, conflict of interest or perceived favoritism.

Despite Wheeler's concerns, UC's policy is not as broad as others. Some, including The Citadel, a military college in Charleston, S.C., prohibit amorous relationships between all students and faculty. Others, including the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va., prohibit professor-undergraduate relationships except in instances of "exceptional circumstances" that are exempted by the dean.

While some of the romances blossom, others inevitably do not, heaping stress on students and professors.

"It's something we deal with that can leave deep scars for students," said Reina Juarez, interim director of Psychological and Counseling Services at UCSD. "My sense is that in the overall scheme, the number is not too high compared to suffering from lack of attention or direction from a professor."

UCSD junior Rebecca Anshell said yesterday she was pleased with the faculty's approval of the policy.

"The potential is there for professors to coerce students into relationships, and in that sense (the policy is) good," said Anshell, a philosophy student.

On the other hand, she said, she also would support policies simply forbidding coercion or sexual harassment, and not blocking all student-faculty relationships.

Campuses are increasingly adopting such policies, said Jonathan Knight, associate secretary for the American Association of University Professors.

"Universities don't want to face the situation where there is no policy, no guideline at all," Knight said.

Law professor Robert DeKoven said it is unclear whether such policies guard against liability.

"Just because UC has a policy prohibiting dating does not absolve the UC of liability," said DeKoven, a professor at California Western School of Law.

If the school fielded complaints about a relationship and unethical conduct yet kept the employee on staff, it could be grounds for a lawsuit, DeKoven said.