Columbia University Policy on Defining Student Location

Columbia University determines a student's location at the time of initial enrollment in an educational program based on information provided by the student and upon receipt of information from the student that their location has changed, pursuant to 24 CR § 600.9(c), revised effective July 1, 2020. This determination is made regardless of whether the student is participating in an in-person, hybrid, or distance learning program.

At the time of initial enrollment in an educational program, and twice a year thereafter through on-line campaigns in Columbia’s Vergil Student Information platform, students are required to confirm that their University Residence, Local, and Permanent Addresses are up to date.

Columbia University uses three primary address types in Vergil for the purpose of identifying student location:

• Student University Residence Address (Columbia Assigned)
• Student Self-Reported Local Address
• Student Self-Reported Permanent Address 

Columbia University defines the location of a student using the self-reported addresses provided through the application for admission process. If a student completes a contract with Campus Housing or Columbia Residential, a student is then assigned a University Residence Address. To update the Local or Permanent Address, a student should navigate to Vergil and sign in using CUID authentication and update the address accordingly. 

To define the location, the address types are evaluated using a hierarchy of University Residence, Local, and Permanent Address.

International Students, please also see Columbia’s International Student & Scholars Office for additional information about address changes.