OIE is responsible for prevention and education efforts and develops and administers policy compliance and prevention training for students, faculty, staff, administrators and other relevant audiences on discrimination, harassment, Title IX, minors and affirmative action policies and procedures, and applicable federal, state and local laws. This work is focused on educating the Columbia community about policies and procedures and about conduct that complies with or violates University policies and laws. The Office conducts educational programs for students, faculty and staff throughout the University and is responsible for ensuring that all students, faculty and staff receive training in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws governing discrimination, harassment and gender-based misconduct.
Trainings
Anti-Discrimination and Discriminatory Harassment Policy and Procedures for Students
Addressing discrimination and harassment is essential to meeting our mission of teaching, creating, and advancing knowledge. As such, we have launched a new, required, online training module on Columbia’s Anti-Discrimination and Discriminatory Harassment Policy and Procedures for Students (“the Policy”).
This required training will take approximately 35 minutes to complete and will help you understand:
- How the Policy applies to both individual students and to student groups (recognized, derecognized, and non-recognized);
- How to report discrimination and discriminatory harassment, what happens after a report is filed, and the resources available to you;
- How reports are resolved, and potential outcomes for a finding of policy violations;
- How reports about the behavior of student groups are evaluated and how sanctions are decided if there is a policy violation.
Please note that this training module is mandatory for all students. For those of you who voluntarily completed the training in the fall, completion through this platform is still required.
You need to complete the entire training by March 24, 2025, or you may lose access to university systems.
Title VI Training for Columbia Faculty and Staff
The Title VI Training for Columbia Employees is required by the University and includes faculty, staff, researchers, librarians, contractors, and student workers.
The Title VI Training focuses on the University’s obligation to comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin. The training provides an overview of what Title VI means for Columbia employees, scenarios illustrating Title VI issues, the duty to report, and how the University addresses allegations of prohibited conduct. We recognize that your time is valuable and hope that this training is instructive.
Columbia University is committed to providing a learning, living, and working environment free from unlawful discrimination and harassment and to fostering a nurturing and vibrant community founded upon the fundamental dignity of all its members. In addition to helping the Columbia community comply with the University’s obligations under Title VI, this training importantly serves our shared responsibility for fostering an environment of inclusivity and respect.
The training itself should take approximately 45 minutes to complete.
New York Anti-Sexual Harassment Training (NYASH)
The New York Anti-Sexual Harassment Training (NYASH) is mandated by New York State and New York City legislation. This annual training is required of all personnel, including faculty, staff, researchers, librarians, contractors, and student workers.
While the Faculty and Researcher Briefing addresses a wide variety of topics, including academic integrity and managing student mental health issues, the anti-sexual harassment training focuses specifically on what sexual harassment is, including definitions, and who has a duty to report and how reports can be made.
Both the existing Faculty and Researcher Briefing, required of all incoming faculty and researchers, and Columbia’s Anti-Harassment, Discrimination and Title IX Training, required of all incoming officers of the library and administrative officers and staff will still be required as they cover a broader range of topics. We do recognize the time obligation on faculty and staff and are focused on ways to moderate this burden.
Columbia University is committed to providing a learning, living, and working environment free from unlawful discrimination and harassment, and to fostering a nurturing and vibrant community founded upon the fundamental dignity of all its members. In addition to being required by law, the training importantly serves the University’s goals of fostering a safe, inclusive, and supportive campus environment, and ensuring that Columbia is a community where all of us meet our shared responsibility to prevent gender-based misconduct in any form.
The training itself should take between 45-60 minutes to complete.
Current Employees
- Current employees will be assigned on their NYASH anniversary month and will have 30 days to complete the training.
- New hires will be assigned on a rolling basis and will have 30 days to complete the training.
Briefings and Guides
Columbia Faculty and Researcher Briefing
This briefing covers requirements and best practices on a variety of topics including academic integrity, student mental health, teaching challenges, discrimination, harassment, sexual misconduct, reporting obligations and other issues.
It is essential that faculty and research officers have answers to questions that sometimes arise about how to handle the topics addressed in this briefing, including best practices, available resources, and University expectations.
The briefing provides tools for recognizing and responding to issues that can have a serious impact on our community, whether in the classroom, labs, the workplace or more generally on campus.
For colleagues who have had in-person training on some of these issues, this briefing will provide a refresher as well as new information on other issues.
Faculty and Researcher Briefing Frequently Asked Questions
When I click on “Begin the Briefing,” it takes me to a page with several different courses on various topics listed. Do I need to do all of them?
The only one you need to complete is the “Columbia Faculty and Researcher Briefing” listed under “Required Courses.” Other required or optional courses may be listed on the page, but those courses have been prepared by other Columbia offices, have their own deadlines, and are separate from this initiative.
When is the deadline?
Please refer to the email you received that announced the Briefing.
Who is requiring that I participate?
The Office of the Provost and the Office of University Life worked together to create the briefing, in consultation with faculty from all schools at Columbia. The Provost requires that all full-time and part-time Officers of Instruction and Research complete the briefing.
How long will it take to complete?
The briefing should take approximately 30-40 minutes to complete. Each slide has a brief set time period before you can manually advance to the next slide. Each slide is narrated in order to accommodate everyone who is completing the briefing.
Will I be quizzed on the material?
No, the briefing does not include quizzes. Instead, the briefing includes scenarios with questions; for some of these, there is more than one right answer as there would be in real-life interactions. You should aim to respond to all questions correctly but will not have to achieve a particular score. Your answers are not tracked or recorded.
How will I know that I have completed the briefing?
When you reach the final slide, you have completed the briefing. You will receive an email confirming your completion. CUIT updates the completion list once a day, so it may take up to 24 hours to receive this confirmation.
Where can I find more information about Columbia’s resources?
The Office of University Life website compiles resource information related to students. The briefing also includes a downloadable resource sheet.
Columbia TA Guide
Columbia TA Guide: Essential Resources, Rules, and Guidance
This guide covers requirements and best practices on a variety of topics including academic integrity, student mental health, challenges, discrimination, harassment, sexual misconduct, reporting obligations and other issues.
It is essential that Teaching Assistants and other students who have academic supervisory roles have answers to questions that sometimes arise about how to handle the topics addressed in this guide, including best practices, available resources, and University expectations.
The guide provides tools for recognizing and responding to issues that can have a serious impact on our community, whether in the classroom, labs or more generally on campus.
For those who have had in-person training on some of these issues, this guide will provide a refresher as well as new information on other issues.
Columbia TA Guide Frequently Asked Questions
When is the deadline?
Deadlines are assigned by the student's school.
Who is requiring that I participate?
The Office of the Provost and the Office of University Life worked together to create the guide, with your role as both a student and one who mentors or oversees the academic work of other students in mind. All students who are Teaching Assistants or who supervise other students’ academic work must complete the guide.
How long will it take to complete?
The guide should take approximately 30-40 minutes to complete. Each slide has a brief set time period before you can manually advance to the next slide. Each slide is narrated in order to accommodate everyone who is completing the guide.
Will I be quizzed on the material?
No, the guide does not include quizzes. Instead, the guide includes scenarios with questions; for some of these, there is more than one right answer as there would be in real-life interactions. You should aim to respond to all questions correctly but will not have to achieve a particular score. Your answers are not tracked or recorded.
How will I know that I have completed the guide?
When you reach the final slide, you have completed the guide. You will receive an email confirming your completion. CUIT updates the completion list once a day, so it may take up to 24 hours to receive this confirmation.
Where can I find more information about Columbia’s resources?
The Office of University Life website compiles resource information related to students. The guide also includes a downloadable resource sheet.
Technical FAQs
Technical Frequently Asked Questions
I receive a “Login Incorrect” message when I try to access the guide. What should I do?
Please check that your uni and password are functioning by visiting my.columbia.edu and logging in. If you are unable to successfully login with this link, please visit uni.columbia.edu and click “forgot password” to reset your password. If there is still an issue, please contact the CUIT Service Desk at 212-854-1919 or [email protected].
When I try to log in to the briefing or guide there is an error that suggests a system problem. What should I do?
Please contact the CUIT Service Desk at 212-854-1919 or [email protected] and explain the problem. Someone from CUIT will help resolve your issue.
How will I know that my participation has been recorded?
You will receive a confirmation via email within 24 hours of completing the guide. If more than 24 hours have passed since you completed the course and you have not received a confirmation, please contact [email protected].
I can log in, but I don’t see the course.
The guide is only assigned to those who are currently Officers of Research and Officers of Instruction at CU Teaching Assistants or who work with students in an academic setting. If you are in that population then please contact the CUIT Service Desk at 212-854-1919 or [email protected]
What if I have completed the training but do not receive the completion certificate?
It is possible that you did not complete all of the material within the slides. Some slides have more than one component to click through. In order to check, open the course and review the table of contents located on the left side of the training window. The header for each section and sub-section will turn from black text to gray text once the slide has been fully completed.
You can also click the arrows on the left side of the table of contents to reveal the contents of each section. The headers for any sections you still need to complete will remain black. Review each incomplete section. Sometimes the incomplete portion is a section containing a question you did not answer.
When I click on “Begin the Briefing,” it takes me to a page with several different courses on various topics listed. Do I need to do all of them?
The only one you need to complete is the “Columbia Faculty and Researcher Briefing” listed under “Required Courses.” Other required or optional courses may be listed on the page, but those courses have been prepared by other Columbia offices, have their own deadlines, and are separate from this initiative.
I'm confused: I’m being told to change my password and complete the Briefing. How do I fulfill the requirement?
First, at the web page titled "Reset Your Expired Password," fill out your UNI, old password, and new password. Then hit submit. Following that, click the link in the email reminder you received to log into the Columbia Briefing.