Introduction
Written and distributed through a partnership of Columbia Housing and the Office of Residential Programs, this guide is a comprehensive handbook for students living in the 18 undergraduate residence halls, as well as the brownstones. Columbia Housing and Residential Programs staff are excited to welcome new and returning students that have chosen to live in the residential community, which is filled with a diverse group of individuals living and learning together. In the Guide to Living, students will find Policies that help ensure your safety and a community of mutual respect; Procedures that show students how to get things done quickly and properly; and Services that help make life in the residence halls more convenient, comfortable, and fun.
Columbia Housing
Columbia Housing offers our residents a unique opportunity: the chance to build a close sense of community within the reach of all that New York City has to offer. We provide housing for approximately 5,500 undergraduate students. The cornerstone of the Housing program is providing great hospitality. Have a question about how to replace a lost key or how to get a Guest Pass? Hopefully, you will find answers to these and other questions by browsing this guide. If not, there is a Hospitality Desk staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to assist you.
Hospitality Desk
Hartley Lobby - (212) 854-2779
Customer Service Center
112 Hartley Hall - (212) 854-2775
Housing Website
housing.columbia.edu
General Inquiries
housing@columbia.edu
Residential Programs
Residential Programs (RP) offers learning opportunities beyond the classroom that support the academic mission of Columbia College and Columbia Engineering. RP provides experiences to students in residence that promote intellectual, social, emotional, and interpersonal growth and development. RP fosters a variety of living and learning environments that allow for the expression of individuality balanced with a shared sense of responsibility for the Columbia community.
In RP, the following core values guide how we conduct our work with individuals and communities. Through our programs, services, and University partnerships, we strive to instill these values in all of our residential communities:
Engagement: We encourage intellectual and interpersonal connections within the residential and University community, Morningside Heights, New York City, and beyond.
Development: We endorse healthy life balance that encompasses nurturing the mind, body, and spirit in order to maximize potential.
Responsibility: We seek to develop community members who live their values, are accountable to self and others, and reflect on the impact of their actions and behaviors.
Inclusivity: We foster recognition of commonalities and differences across a spectrum of identities and seek the perspectives not present in our pursuit of shared understanding.
Learning: We celebrate all experiences as opportunities for education by embracing inquiry and discourse to promote transformational growth.
The Residential Programs staff member with whom you will have the most contact is your Resident Adviser (RA). Your RA is an upperclass student who will most likely be one of your floormates. He or she plans floor community-building events and is available to help you with any difficulties you may encounter, including anything from academic worries to questions about college life. You should notify your RA directly of issues involving: noise, conflict between roommates/suitemates and/or neighbors, smoke, or other issues of community standards.
In addition to the Director and Assistant Dean for Community Development and Residential Programs, other staff in the residence halls includes:
- Community Advisers (CAs), who plan building and/or area-wide community events in residential areas.
- Graduate Hall Directors (GHDs), who supervise RAs and CAs and support community building.
- The Associate Directors (ADs), who oversee all functions of a residential area, manage community development and leadership within the area, and work with the Residential Programs staff or Fraternity and Sorority Leaders to enhance the residential experience.
o There are 6 residential areas within residential programs:
- Fraternity and Sorority Life and Leadership Development (inclusive of all Fraternities and Sororities recognized on-campus, regardless of housing status)
- Southfield (John Jay, Carman, Furnald)
- The LLC (Hartley and Wallach)
- East Campus (East Campus, Wien, and students assigned to Kings Crown)
- The Block (Broadway, Hogan, Ruggles, McBain, Watt, 548 West 113th Street, brownstones 536, 542, and 546 West 114th Street)
- West Campus (47 Claremont, 600 West 113th, Schapiro, Woodbridge, River, Harmony, and Carlton Arms, which houses the 3/2 Combined Plan at 362 Carlton Arms)
Locations of Residential Programs Offices:
103 Broadway
111 Wallach
310 East Campus
515 Lerner
Residential Programs Main Line:
(212) 854-6805
Residential Programs Website
http://www.studentaffairs.columbia.edu/resprograms/
General Inquiries
corp@columbia.edu
