Code of Academic and Professional Conduct

As part of preparing students for careers in international and public affairs, the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) promotes the highest academic and professional standards. To clarify the school’s expectation of professional and ethical conduct, including honesty, accuracy, and integrity in academic and professional activities, the administration, faculty, and students have adopted the following Code of Academic and Professional Conduct. It is the responsibility of all members of the SIPA community to encourage academic integrity and to deter, confront, and report all acts of academic dishonesty. To signify their knowledge and acceptance of the SIPA Code of Professional and Academic Conduct, students will review and sign the following pledge.

“In order to promote honesty, professionalism, fairness, and academic integrity within the SIPA community, I hereby pledge to abide by the standards of academic and professional conduct outlined below”:

“I will fully participate in the academic life of the school by understanding degree and course requirements, and putting forth my best efforts in completing all assignments and exams according to the guidelines and procedures established by faculty, instructors, and teaching assistants.”

“I will dedicate adequate time to my studies by effectively managing conflicts between my academic responsibilities and other commitments. I will communicate responsibly with faculty, administrative staff, and the Office of Student Affairs about matters that affect my ability to participate as expected in my classes and other school activities.”

“I understand that the falsification of academic or admissions records can result in disciplinary actions.”

“I will recognize the diversity of SIPA and understand that professional and civil conduct is expected to guide interactions between all constituents of the school: including employees, students, faculty, administrative staff, and student staff. SIPA students are ambassadors for the school and should behave accordingly in professional and academic settings.”

“I understand that the commission of criminal acts against Columbia students, the University, or its employees is considered a violation of the SIPA Code of Academic and Professional Conduct.”

“I will read and abide by the Code of Academic and Professional Conduct and will undertake my academic work with honesty and integrity. I will submit original work and will properly attribute any ideas that are not my own according to established academic procedures. If I am unsure about what constitutes proper academic procedure in a particular instance, it is my responsibility to consult with a professor or appropriate staff member. I will not give or receive unauthorized aid on any assignment or exam. I will not cheat or plagiarize or condone such conduct in others in any academic or professional undertaking while enrolled at SIPA.”

“I understand that cheating comprises the giving or receiving of unauthorized and/or unfair aid in academic work. This may include but is not limited to lying, deceiving, stealing, talking, signaling, copying from other students, and unauthorized usage of books, data (both in hard copy and electronic formats), study aids, or other sources in a manner inconsistent with the expectations established by SIPA and my classroom instructors. I understand that cheating also includes falsifying data in support of laboratory, internship, Workshop, or Capstone Project work.”

“I understand that plagiarism includes but is not limited to:

  • Submitting written work of any kind (e.g., reports, essays, exercises, papers), or portions of such written work that is not my own but rather the written work of another author;
  • Failing to acknowledge, through proper footnotes and bibliographic entries, the source of ideas not my own;
  • Failing to indicate through proper use of quotations and footnotes whenever my work includes paraphrases of ideas or verbatim expressions not my own;
  • Submitting written work prepared for one course to meet the requirements of a second course without having received in writing prior permission from both instructors;
  • Collaborating with other students or outside sources on an assignment or examination without specific permission from the faculty member to do so;
  • Using another person’s or institution’s research or data without attribution.”

“If graded together with other students in study groups, I pledge to contribute to my fullest capacity. I will not seek unauthorized help outside my study group, unless specifically authorized by the faculty member.”

“I have read the Code of Academic and Professional Conduct and will undertake my academic work with honesty and integrity.”

As a professional community of faculty and students conducting research in international and public affairs, we at SIPA must be mindful of the need for accuracy and consistency in citing the sources of our research findings. SIPA’s reputation and yours are one and the same, and we must all work together to ensure the integrity of academic work conducted here.

In addition, many SIPA students come from universities and academic systems with different practices and traditions in regard to citing sources. It is, therefore, imperative that we all share a common understanding of prevailing standards and practices at U.S. institutions of higher learning.
In order to provide you with ample resources for ascertaining the proper style of attribution in presenting your research, we have compiled a series of links to documents from various North American universities that we think will be very helpful to you. You should all make a point of consulting them before your first assignment, as inaccuracy and imprecision in citing sources can lead to the charge of plagiarism, a violation of the SIPA Code of Academic and Professional Conduct that, when proven, may result in dismissal from Columbia University. Please take the time now to study these useful and important aides to your research.

Students sign the Academic and Professional Conduct Pledge to acknowledge that they are responsible for reading and understanding the above materials. If a student is uncertain of the procedures for documenting and citing sources, they must consult these resources and seek assistance from faculty or Office of Student Affairs staff to ensure academic work conforms to these standards.