To be fair to NATS and to voice teachers in general, the Code of Ethics is not intended to provide teachers with "ownership."
I have actually heard of cases where a student was working with two teachers and one didn't know about it. Now, if I'm teaching a student and that student is secretly working with another teacher, that student still represents ME and MY teaching every time he or she sings. It is not fair to me (or the other teacher for that matter) that this student represents my work.
This is also why NATS prevents teachers from taking sole credit for a student's success until the student has been with the teacher for at least 8 months. It would be unfair, for example, for me to take sole credit for a college freshman during the first semester (when our regional NATS auditions take place) if that student had previously had lessons. In many cases the students do repertoire learned with previous teachers.
Not that I always agree with NATS, but for the Code of Ethics is there to protect both teachers and students.
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