Policies & Procedures

I. NACE Principles for Professional Practice

All employment professionals participating in our recruiting program are required to work within a framework of professionally accepted recruiting, interviewing and selection techniques as stipulated in the NACE Principles for Professional Practice.

II. Job & Internship Posting Policies and Procedures

All postings must comply with Federal and New York State laws, including but not limited to equal employment opportunity laws, which prohibit discrimination based on race, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or genetic information. For information on best practices for online job postings, please refer to the following websites: The United States Department of Justice Best Practices and The United States Department of Justice Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC).
We reserve the right in our sole discretion to make a determination on the appropriateness and number of all postings and the positions being offered and the population served.
All employers who post on the Career Resources Portal must have an employer website in English or translated into English (Google translate is not acceptable).
All employer contacts who post in the Career Resources Portal must have an email address associated with their organization. To ensure the safety of our students/alumni and verify the validity of the opportunity, generic email providers are not acceptable (i.e.: Yahoo, Gmail, etc.)
TC NEXT will not approve positions that involve working in a private residence, including child care, clerical support, household help, tutoring, and elder care.
TC NEXT will not approve positions which require a financial commitment from the applicant, including but not limited to: purchase of company products, purchase of company training, recruiting fees, franchise opportunities, or multi-level marketing.
Positions with openings in multiple locations: For positions with openings in multiple locations, but have the same title/job function and application instructions, please create only one posting. Be sure to indicate "various locations" under the field "Job Location City" and /or hold down the control key and click all the states under the "Job Location State" where the opportunity exists.

Postings are not allowed to be re-posted before the default 30-day expiration date. Openings with a rolling application deadline should be inputted with an extended expiration date, as they will not be approved to be re-posted.

All postings must have a minimum qualification of a Bachelors degree in order to be considered for approval in the Career Resources Portal.
All employers based in New York City, or who will consider remote candidates based in New York City, are required to include a good faith salary range with the job posting. This applies to full time jobs, part time jobs, internships, and contract roles. TC NEXT encourages all employers to consider sharing salary ranges with their candidates, regardless of location, to advance pay parity.

III. Employer Events

Employers: Employers wishing to recruit TC students and alumni must submit a request to employmentpartnerships@tc.columbia.edu.
Audience: Targeted recruiting audience for employer events is Teachers College students and alumni only.
Space available: If an employer is approved for a recruiting event, TC NEXT will reserve a room for the employer event.
Events: Employer-led presentations or recruiting events must be conducted in English and/or translated into English. This includes all presentation materials such as brochures and PowerPoints.
Event Marketing: TC NEXT will create marketing material for the employer event to be distributed via student and alumni communication channels.
Cancellations: If it is necessary to cancel an event, please do so as far in advance as possible. We expect recruiters to immediately notify TC NEXT of any schedule changes. You may contact us at employmentpartnerships@tc.columbia.edu.

IV. Unpaid and For-Credit Internships

Teachers College, Columbia University expects companies to appropriately compensate students for work performed during an internship. We expect all employers to abide by the standards established by the Fair Labor Standards Act and accompanying regulations. It includes the specific criteria for unpaid internships at for-profit companies as outlined by the U.S. Department of Labor.

If any of these criteria are not met, the intern must be paid.

Additionally, for employers seeking interns to work in the State of New York, strict attention must also be paid to the requirements set forth by the New York State Minimum Wage Act and Wage Orders.

Not-for-Profit organizations seeking to hire interns in the State of New York are also required to review and adhere to the guidelines set forth by the New York State Department of Labor.

All employers are asked to please consider these criteria carefully before posting an unpaid internship.

V. Academic Credit as a component of Unpaid Internships

Please be aware that the decision to award academic credit is made between students and their academic departments. Academic credit should not replace compensation for work performed during an internship.

VI. Offer Policy

Most students are not ready, nor should they be, to make a final employment decision before completing all of their interviews. Therefore, TC students may request extensions beyond your stated deadlines; we hope you can accommodate such requests. Most employers have been very understanding and willing to give our students the time they need. We appreciate your cooperation in the past, and ask for your flexibility in the future.

VII. Rescinding or Deferring Employment

Employers needing to rescind or defer employment should carefully review the guidelines and recommendations outlined by NACE in their Position Statement on Rescinded and Deferred Employment Offers.
We expect all employers to treat candidates in an ethical manner. We reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to deny access to on-campus recruiting to any employers who we determine have not conducted their recruiting efforts ethically.

VIII. Confidentiality Policy

All materials received from our students (letters, resumes, transcripts, via email or hard copy), as well as all email exchanges should be shared only with those persons at your organization involved in the hiring process.

IX. Employer Internship/Employment Agreements (MOU’s)

TC NEXT prides itself on partnering with employers to make opportunities available to our students and alumni. We are happy to let our students and alumni know about all positions of employment, internships and externships. However, TC NEXT does not directly enter into agreements, contracts or memorandums of understanding with any employer, agency or government entity.
Employers who have internship or externship programs requiring these types of agreements before making positions available to our students or alumni must identify the academic program or programs that most closely align with their interests, so that they may focus upon programs with candidates to whom they would prefer to offer opportunities. The employer should then connect directly with that program. The academic program will then evaluate if the positions to be offered would advance the interests of the academic program and its students and work with the employer to enter into an agreement when possible.For a list of programs please, click here.

If you need help or clarification, you may consult with our Employment Partnerships team for guidance by emailing employmentpartnerships@tc.columbia.edu .

X. Alcohol

Alcohol is prohibited in the Employment Recruiting Process. As a member of the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), Teachers College also abides by the Principles for Professional Practice. The Principles document explains why serving alcohol to job candidates is inappropriate and inadvisable. The principle states, “Serving alcohol should not be part of the recruitment process.” Open bars, paid bars, and holding recruiting events in a bar are all inappropriate. Failure to abide by this principle will place the employer in violation of the stated policy. Employers not following the policy can be barred from recruiting at Teachers College. For further information, please read the Principles for Professional Practice in its entirety.

XI. Third-Party Agencies

Third party agencies can only post positions for the students and alumni if they meet the following criteria:

They are actively recruiting for a bona ﬁde employment opportunity that is appropriate for the skill sets and experience of the students and alumni served by TC NEXT, on behalf of an employer
The position is posted in the Career Resources Portal and the job description clearly states that the agency is recruiting on behalf of a third-party client
No payment of any type is required by the candidate
The agency fully discloses its employers/clients

We reserve the right in our sole discretion to make a determination of the appropriateness of the positions being oﬀered for the populations we serve.
Third-party agencies and recruiters may not attend Career Fairs.

XII. Non-Discrimination Policy Statement

At Teachers College and in the Office of TC NEXT, we promote equal access to employment opportunities without discrimination against individuals on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, creed, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, marital status, citizenship status, ancestry, military status, pregnancy, or any other class protected by federal or state and local laws. Questions or complaints regarding this policy may be directed to: Director of the Office of Human Resources, Office of Human Resources, Box 149, 525 West 120th Street, New York, NY 10027, telephone (212) 678-3175).
Representatives visiting Teachers College, Columbia University’s campus for recruiting purposes are expected to comply with all applicable federal, state, and local laws, including but not limited to the laws governing equal opportunity.

Policies & Procedures