Departmental Honors Departmental Honors may be established and awarded by any Columbia College department or academic program, and be recorded on a student's final transcript. Students should consult with their departmental representatives no later than early in the first term of their senior year if they wish to be considered for Departmental Honors. Students who are awarded Departmental Honors are notified of this by the Faculty Committee on Honors in mid-May. Each year 10 percent of the senior class is elected to membership in Phi Beta Kappa. Two percent is elected in November on the basis of academic achievement throughout the first three years.
Academic achievement is measured by strength and rigor of program as well as grades.
Students may not apply for Phi Beta Kappa. As with graduation honors, October and February graduates are considered along with students graduating in May. Election to Phi Beta Kappa is noted on a student's transcript. The Committee on Academic Standing The Columbia College Committee on Academic Standing determines academic policies and regulations for Columbia College students except in certain instances when decisions are made by the University Senate or the faculty as a whole. The Committee on Academic Standing is expected to uphold the policies and regulations of the Committee on Instruction and to determine when circumstances warrant exceptions to them. There is a Committee on Academic Standing for each class, and it is composed of the class deans and the associate deans for academic advising and academic planning.