Untangling the Obscurity of an Independent Affiliate

Go to Barnard College’s Web site and look up its affiliation with Columbia University. Now go to Columbia’s Web site and look up its relationship with Barnard College. Already we find eloquently phrased conflicting information and ambiguous jargon attempting to define and defend what simply boils down to a paradoxical relationship—the official position of Columbia: Barnard College is “an independent affiliate institution of Columbia University.” Independent affiliate.

In 1982, Columbia started admitting women and the Intercorporate Agreement was signed, a document that governs the relationship between Barnard and Columbia and is regularly updated by the trustees of both institutions. The oxymoronic term “independent affiliate” has led to an obscuration of the facts, sometimes clouding our own judgment in the process.

So, let’s get some of the facts out, in black and white.

The “independent” part of Barnard College means that it has its own applicant pool and admissions policies and procedures. The College has its own board of trustees, president, administration, deans, and advising system. Barnard has its own faculty; it also has its own budget, secures its own funding, has its own endowment, and leads fundraising efforts independently from the University at large. Finally, Barnard has an independently owned four-acre campus, as well as buildings and residence halls on and off campus.

Barnard’s “affiliation” with Columbia University means cross-registration across both institutions for all classes; mutual access to libraries, dining halls, athletic facilities, programming space, residence halls, and student activities, including clubs, sports, and Greek life. Barnard student athletes participate in Columbia’s Division I athletic program, and Columbia students participate in Barnard club sports.

Thus, every aspect of a student’s life in Morningside Heights, from the academic experience to the services used to the campus activities, is strongly and directly affected by a mutual and symbiotic interconnection between these two institutions. For example, there are on average 6,900 Barnard student course registrations at Columbia, and 6,300 Columbia student course registrations at Barnard every year.
However, in 2002 the number of cross-registrations was equal between the two institutions, while from 2002-2004 CU students registered for an average of 3,250 more points at Barnard, and in 2005 and 2006 Barnard students in turn averaged about 2,000 more cross-registration points. Barnard provides education to all University undergraduates in architecture, dance, education, theater, and urban studies, while programs in music, the visual arts, computer science, and engineering are centered at Columbia.

Moreover, while Barnard retains an independently administered and financed faculty, all professors promoted to tenure must undergo Columbia University’s ad hoc process. BC faculty are also encouraged to participate in the mutually beneficial opportunity of teaching graduate classes at the University’s graduate schools. All undergraduate students are encouraged to become members and take up leadership positions in student-run organizations of every kind, while club advising is still handled by two separate offices.

Perhaps most significant is that, like everything else in New York City, Barnard College’s affiliation with Columbia does not come cheap. The Intercorporate Agreement between the College and Columbia University provides for payment for the exchange of certain services between the two institutions. The services of cross-registration for students, library services, faculty exchange, mutual use of athletic and campus facilities, and spaces such as Dodge, Lerner, Butler, etc., cost Barnard nearly $3,000,000 just during the 2007 academic year. Therefore, while access to academics, facilities, and activities is not only officially shared between the two institutions, it is paid for every year equally in ratio by the attendees of all four undergraduate institutions of the University.

After outlining the specifics, the fact that Barnard College is “both an independently incorporated educational institution and an official college of Columbia University” doesn’t make any more syntactic sense; but the independent as well as the shared benefits really begin to emerge. Each undergraduate school is tailored to a specific group of students, yet the very same process enhances the overall number and variety of courses and accessibility to expert professors and academic opportunities to the undergraduate community at large.

It is a dynamic relationship that becomes hard to capture and, as a result, has led to confusion. The relationship between Barnard College and Columbia University is a strong one, rooted in its history and cemented in its presence. It is clear to many students that the official delineations of this relationship are poorly reflected in the colorful reality of everyday life across campus. But let’s not dwell in obscurity. There are answers to all your questions regarding the relationship; all you need to do is ask.

The author is a Barnard College sophomore and is the Student Government Association’s representative to Columbia College Student Council.