Student-athletes at Columbia are held to the highest standards of sportsmanship and integrity. For student-athletes seeking academic or career support services visit the Columbia Athletics Success Through Well Being site.

Student-Athlete Handbook & Academic Integrity

Student-athletes who are found to have violated principles of academic integrity are required to meet with their head coach and the Deputy Athletics Director. Student-athletes found responsible (placed on academic probation or suspended) for violating their school’s academic integrity and/or academic conduct policies will face the repercussions outlined below. 

Academic integrity offenses will result in student-athletes complying with institutional academic integrity policies, including a mandatory meeting with the Director of Academic Integrity, or the respective school’s equivalent. 

Student-athletes found responsible for violating the principles of academic integrity will be withheld from all leadership roles as outlined below during an active student conduct sanction. 

Columbia Athletics leadership roles include, but are not limited to, the following: 

• Varsity Team Captainship

• Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) Executive Board Roles

• SAAC Varsity Team Representative

• Student-Athlete Affinity Groups Leadership Roles (i.e., Athlete Ally, Black Student-Athlete Alliance (BSAA)

• Columbia Athletics Leadership Program

Student-athletes found responsible for multiple offenses will be ineligible for the next scheduled contest. The Department reserves the right to extend suspensions to more than (1) contest.  

For violations that occur during the championship season, student-athletes will be ineligible from the next scheduled contest immediately after receipt of their sanction letter, unless an appeal is pending. 

For academic sanctions under appeal the athletic penalty will be enforced at the conclusion of the appeal process. 

For violations that occur during the off-season or during the non-traditional season, student-athletes will be withheld from the first scheduled contests in their subsequent championship season.

For instances in which the Department is notified about academic dishonesty regarding a student-athlete, it is advisable for the Department to inform the respective party of the Student Conduct reporting process. 

Sport programs may add additional sanctions as outlined in their team guidelines.  All athletic sanctions can be appealed to the Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and Physical Education.

Academic dishonesty may result in an unethical conduct violation in accordance with NCAA bylaw 10.1 and all applicable interpretations.

Sports programs found to be in violation of the behavioral section of the principles of academic integrity may be subject to probation, suspension of contests, or cancellation of the season. The Deputy Athletics Director will meet with the Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and Physical Education or the head coach (when appropriate) to determine potential sanctions. 

All student-athletes may appeal academic misconduct sanctions via the student-athlete appeal process, as outlined in the Student-Athlete Handbook. 

Disciplinary action taken by the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics and Physical Education shall not preclude disciplinary action by other University officials (as appropriate). Conduct that will be viewed as a violation of the Principles of Academic Integrity includes, but is not limited to:

• Failing to acknowledge, through proper footnotes and bibliographic entries, the sources of ideas that are not your own
• Failing to acknowledge, through proper use of quotations and footnotes, paraphrases of ideas or verbatim expressions that are essentially not your own
• Using information from the internet without proper citation
• Representing someone else’s work as your own
• Copying from someone else’s examination paper or homework assignment
• Allowing another student to copy from your work
• Impermissible collaboration on assignments or class work
• Giving or receiving aid on an academic assignment under circumstances when you should have reasonably known that such assistance was not permissible
• Revising and resubmitting materials for grading without the instructor’s knowledge or consent
• Submitting written work from one course to a second course without the permission of both instructors
• Reproduced copyright material without the owner’s permission*
• Deceiving University officials, faculty, staff or Department of Intercollegiate Athletics and Physical Education personnel

*Please note reproduction of copyright material without the owner’s permission may result in

communication from the University directly.

If you are a student-athlete and you have questions about how an academic integrity violation could impact your ability to compete in your sport contact Aisley Carter, Associate Athletics Director for Compliance.