+1 At least twice I taught children of close colleagues. Never a problem.

@EthanBolker: "colleague" is not the same as "boss".

@Buffy I suppose OP feels that it is unfair that he/she alone has the actual burden of performing this academic/professional/ethical tightrope act not only once but twice and now again maybe for a third time. High-minded ideals are fine till one of us - alone - has to carry the human expense of delivering it all - and take the blame if it goes wrong. OP surely has a point here.

@Trunk, they asked about the ethics. There are lots of situations in academia, as in life, that make us uncomfortable. But we still need to behave ethically.

@Buffy Sure. But my point is that a group ethos cannot - ethically - be borne by the back of the same group member again and again. Don't let ethics of a process blind you to the unethical to the individual operator.

In a small faculty it is inevitable that students in the major get the same professor repeatedly. They also have a valid claim on the knowledge and skill of the professor. That can't ethically be voided.

@Trunk If it is a small department, there may be no alternative. My own department consists of five faculty. There are two of us (including the chair) who consistently teach calculus and precalculus (with the other faculty mainly teaching remedial classes and statistics). Were the chair's child to attend this institution, they would have to take the class from either me or the chair.

Did OP say he/she was the only alternative for these courses in that department ? Then in that case, the process bringing this situation about has to be re-examined - ethically - by all the faculty of that department. Admission staff might politely point out the ethical challenges resulting from them taking up their offer in the letter of acceptance. If it's a small department then a pairing arrangement would be easier with other small departments to enable exercise of educational benefit and fairness to receiving faculty. But if OP is not in a small department they are due a rest.

@Trunk The original asker has done a rather poor job in general of responding to questions here. We don't know where they are located, we don't know how much power the chair in their department actually wields, we don't know if the chair has already abused their power, we don't know the size of the department nor the topic taught in the department. Thus everything being discussed here is speculative, and I am merely pointing out that there are conditions under which finding another instructor in the same department may not be possible.

@Xander I take that point, man. I'm not suggesting you or Buffy are participants in a process cynically short-strawing single faculty members. I know it's hard in a country like US/Can where state aid to education is limited not to jump at the chance of college fee benefits to children in a university. But surely there are fairer and maybe more beneficial ways to provide and/or enjoy this benefit if universities cooperated more. Not least the smaller ones - though some of the smaller liberal arts ones have truly beautiful ambiances and students may have their hearts set on that very one !

My university is a medium-sized private institution in the USA. There is a wide selection of majors for students to choose from. The chair role is that of absolute boss, unfortunately. Finding another instructor in the same department would accomplish nothing, as all instructors are in the same position relative to this student and the same boss.

But it would give you a rest from this conflict thing - that's not to be sneezed at. So speak up a bit for yourself or this will go on and on.

"There is a wide selection of majors for students to choose from." So a student who is really passionate about a particular field, but who happens to have a parent who administers that program, should be forced to be passionate about something else? or to attend a completely different institution? How is that fair?

In any event, as written, this question is about the ethics of a student taking a course in a department administered by a parent. The answer to the ethics question is that there is a potential conflict of interest (primarily for the administrator, not the faculty), but that no ethical breach occurs simply because a student takes a class in a program administered by their parent. Yes, it would be better if the burden were shared across the department, but that isn't the question asked here.

@Trunk your standpoint ("it is not to be sneezed at") is quite helpful and in fact precisely what I was looking for when posting. Although I find many of the other responses disappointing, I do have in mind the vastly differing contexts and work environments experienced by faculty all over the world.

@buoyantforce I’d suggest to you to rethink your attitude that people expressing opinions you agree with are “helpful” and contrary ones are “disappointing”. In my experience, the people who benefit most from the academia.se Q&A format are the ones who ask questions not with the goal of seeking validation for their preconceived notions, but rather with the mindset of considering all ideas with an open mind.

There are many ethics codes (including some legal codes) for which the possibility or appearance of a conflict of interest is enough to violate the code.