Policies and Bylaws

Architecture Department Bylaws

School of Architecture Bylaws

The Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture, a community of students, faculty, and administrative staff, seek to uphold these Learning, Teaching, and School Culture Guidelines. These guidelines seek to promote education in design and allied fields through invention, research, respect, tolerance, and collaboration. In the spirit of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion, the Spitzer School embraces through all its activities the stated ideals of the City College of New York’s mission. The Spitzer School promotes an atmosphere where ideas are tested and debated within a framework of kindness, mutual support, and intellectual rigor. It prepares students to enter the professions of architecture, landscape architecture, – urban design, and related fields with advanced skills and empathy to effect change in the wider environments of the city, nation, and world.

These guidelines were developed by faculty, students, and administrative staff at the Spitzer School. These guidelines are both pragmatic and aspirational. They set out what we, as members of the Spitzer community, expect from each other. This document is subject to revision, by the Spitzer School’s Curriculum Committee and Faculty Council, to best serve the evolving needs of community members. The Spitzer School of Architecture commits to evaluate, on an annual basis, not only the values in this document, but also to evaluate, assess, and be accountable to its implementation.

This document was approved by the Curriculum Committee of the Architecture Department of the Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture on April 18, 2024. The document was approved by the Faculty Council of the Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture on 16 May 2024. This document supersedes the Spitzer School’s former Studio Culture Policy.

Members of the Spitzer community, including students, faculty, administrative staff, and visitors, strive to:

• Remain committed to fostering collaboration, diversity, and respect, regardless of age, disability, financial barriers, gender, national origin, neurodiversity, passport positionality, preferred pronouns, race, religion, sex, and sexual orientation.
• Maintain a professional and collegial demeanor.
• Be given the opportunity to take advantage of the School’s communal environment and activities by attending and participating in lectures, exhibitions, joining clubs, as well as divisional and departmental committees as appropriate.
• Uphold the tenets of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion, which are central to the Spitzer School.

As part of the educational mission of the Spitzer School, community members strive to:

• Maintain a positive learning environment within a framework built on respect, trust, and transparency.
• Promote a culture of learning in which community members co-produce knowledge.
• Recognize that collaboration and teamwork are central to the educational mission of the Spitzer School and that team members do their full share of the work in a collegial and proactive manner.
• Recognize the evolving expectations of professional education and bodies of knowledge.
• Uphold the principles and spirit of academic freedom.
• Uphold the principles and spirit of public education.
• Develop, distribute, and follow clear syllabi and supplementary course materials with concise, manageable course expectations, learning outcomes, specific due dates for assignments, and clear grading criteria.
• Offer constructive feedback in a respectful and thoughtful manner focusing on ideas rather than individuals.

With respect to the spaces and facilities of the school, community members strive to:

• Treat facilities and resources of the school with respect and care.
• Maintain the proper condition of the school by caring for the studio, labs, shop, library, and common areas, treating the building as a professional workplace.
• Ensure that workspaces are allocated and used in a fair and equitable manner.
• Keep the spaces of the school clean, orderly, and free of debris, food, excessive noise, loud music, and activities that produce dust, fumes, or other unpleasant outcomes.
• Work within the guidelines, parameters, rules, and hours of the building and labs.

With respect to the health and wellness of our community, community members strive to:

• Respect the physical and mental health and wellness of community members.
• Ensure the safety of community members and commit to a dialogue about achieving and maintaining safety at the Spitzer School.
• Avoid the use of toxic, noxious, and dangerous as well as needlessly expensive materials and fabrication methods.
• When sick, stay home and take necessary steps to communicate absences.
• Respect the need to balance multiple academic, personal, professional, and cultural interests and obligations.

With respect to each other’s time, faculty and student community members strive to:

• Show up on time, meet deadlines, follow course schedules, class times, and the academic calendar.
• Communicate absences in advance, whenever possible.
• Follow guidelines for absences due to religious observance, and make reasonable accommodations for any missed classes or late assignments.
• Recognize the many pressures on time, including family needs, work, demands, and commuting times.

Community members acknowledge that the Spitzer School is a division within the City College of New York and therefore is expected to follow college-wide protocols and policies. These include, but are not limited to:

• Policies on Non-Discrimination and Sexual Harassment found here.
• Academic Integrity Policy found here.
• Academic Standards for undergraduates found here.
• College-wide procedures for filing complaints found here.

To help keep Spitzer clean and vermin free, we ask your cooperation in following these policies:

• Eating is allowed out of doors as well as in common areas such as the Gallery and second and third floor commons.
• Eating is not allowed in studios or classrooms.
• Toss any food waste in the common space trash cans and not in studio trash cans.
• Overnight food storage is not allowed in studios or classrooms.
• Food-related appliances and equipment are not allowed in studios. This includes refrigerators and microwaves. (We are working on procuring a microwave for common use.)

Studio Labs 219 and 319 are open on the second and third floors, respectively. They are centrally managed by ArchIT and available only for all currently enrolled SSA students. These studio labs match the capabilities of the CADLabs, including licensed software and printing. Your cooperation is essential to ensure the proper function and success of these labs. CADLab rules and guidelines apply to both studio labs. Unlike previous semesters, ArchIT no longer distributes stand-alone plotters to studios. The studio labs hours of operation follow the opening and closing times of the Spitzer building. For any technical issues in the computer labs, please contact ArchIT for assistance. Improvements will be made overtime.