
Community Standards
Engineering Community Standards
As members of the Columbia University community, all students are expected to uphold the highest standards of respect, integrity, and civility. These core values are key components of the Columbia University experience and reflect the community’s expectations of its students. Students are expected to conduct themselves in an honest, civil, and respectful manner in all aspects of their lives. Students who violate standards of behavior related to academic or behavioral conduct interfere with their ability, and the ability of others, to take advantage of the full complement of University life, and will thus be subject to Dean’s Discipline.
Learn more about Columbia University's Academic and Behavioral Policies
Columbia Engineering Graduate Student Honor Pledge
At Columbia, we honor intellectual work and respect its origins. We also respect each other and expect to be able to trust one another in all areas related to academic integrity. Therefore we ask all members of our graduate community to affirm the following pledge:
We, the graduate students of Columbia Engineering, hereby pledge that it is our responsibility to uphold intellectual honesty, mutual and self-respect in the academic community.
I affirm that I will not plagiarize, use unauthorized materials, or give or receive illegitimate help on assignments, papers, or examinations. I will also uphold equity and honesty in the evaluation of my work and the work of others. I do so to sustain a community built around this Code of Honor.
What Is Academic Integrity?
In the simplest terms, academic integrity is about honesty in your work. It means giving proper credit for the sources that went into any work you submit or share, whether for a class assignment, a conference presentation, a professional publication, or in any other context. It includes not distorting those sources by, for instance, misrepresenting the results of an experiment.
Some common violations of academic integrity include:
- Failure to cite the source for arguments, claims, or information you use in your work.
- Directly copy the work of others or use text created by generative AI tools and submit it as your own.
- Distorting the results of an experiment or analysis.
- Receiving help from others on an assignment you must do on your own.
Your abilities to synthesize information and produce original work are key components in the learning process. Your professors’ ability to trust that the work you submit is genuinely yours is essential to the evaluation of your abilities. As such, a violation of academic integrity is one of the most serious offenses a student can commit at Columbia and can result in dismissal.
How Are Violations of Academic Integrity Handled?
It is important to note that violations of academic integrity may be intentional or unintentional and may include dishonesty in academic assignments or in dealing with University officials, including faculty and staff members. Moreover, dishonesty during the Dean’s Discipline hearing process may result in more serious consequences.
The Dean’s Discipline process, overseen by the Office of Engineering Student Affairs, is an educational one that determines responsibility using the principle of "preponderance of evidence." A student alleged of violating academic integrity is notified and provided the opportunity to respond through the Dean's Discipline process.
If the student is found responsible for a violation, sanctions will be issued upon consideration of the specifics of the case, institutional precedent, disciplinary history, aggravating circumstances, and community impact. A student found responsible for a policy violation may expect to receive sanctions ranging from formal disciplinary warning to disciplinary probation and may even be suspended or expelled from the University.
Additionally, students found responsible for violations of academic integrity may be required to report such offenses on future applications to graduate and professional schools. The University reserves the right to indicate disciplinary suspension or expulsion on a student's academic transcript. Furthermore, the instructor of record reserves the right to determine how the student's final grade will be affected in the course where the academic integrity violation occurred.
Best Practices for Maintaining Academic Integrity
Most students don’t begin their studies with the intention of violating standards of academic integrity.
But classes at Columbia are challenging, and students may find themselves pressed for time, unprepared for an assignment or exam, and fearful of the consequences of earning a low grade. So they cheat, compromising the integrity of the academic community, disrespecting their instructors and classmates, and depriving themselves of an opportunity to learn.
The best way to avoid this temptation?
- Organize your schedule and budget your time.
- Don’t wait until the last minute to begin an assignment.
- Be quick to ask for help from your professors and teaching assistants.
- Remember that, ultimately, your integrity is worth a great deal more than a good grade.
Even with the best of intentions, it is possible to violate academic integrity by failing to fully understand what is required of you. Make sure you:
- Discuss with each of your faculty their expectations for maintaining academic integrity. Understand that you have a student responsibility to uphold academic integrity based on the expectations outlined in each of your course syllabi.
- Understand instructors' criteria for academic integrity and their policies on citation and group collaboration.
- Clarify any questions or concerns about assignments with instructors as early as possible.
- Avoid plagiarism: acknowledge people’s opinions and theories by carefully citing their words and always indicating sources.
- Assume that collaboration in the completion of assignments is prohibited unless specified by the instructor.
Next Steps
The information on this page is not exhaustive. Please be aware that a lack of knowledge about university, School of Engineering, and/or departmental rules and policies does not excuse you for failure to comply with these regulations.
Therefore, you should familiarize yourself with and follow the regulations of the university, the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, and your academic department and/or program of study.
Consult the Bulletin for Further Information
Questions? Contact us at [email protected].