Columbia University reviews

-Health insurance premiums aren’t fully covered by the employer, whereas other NYC nonprofits typically provide full coverage. - Highly decentralized accounts receivable responsibilities result in financial reports being unfit for distribution to managing directors or faculty chairs, hindering informed decision-making. - Sponsored projects administration is similarly fragmented, causing inefficiencies in grant management. - Fraternity and sorority-based nepotism in student-facing undermines equitable opportunities. - Student affairs offices often serve as a catch-all for duties that tenure-track faculty’s PhD training does not prepare them for: advising, disciplinary actions, and handling mental health crises, leading to staff burnout. - Rapid promotions for middle managers often result in managing directors who lack the necessary supervisory, fiscal, and budget development skills. - No structured professional development for newly promoted leaders, leaving them unprepared for the demands of their roles. - The HR and Ombuds don’t have impactful conflict resolution training; its employees are low-quality for an Ivy League institution: procedural but lack creative problem-solving abilities, which limits their ability to effectively resolve complex workplace issues.

The professors have huge egos and talk to office staff however they want or as if you’re below them/stupid because you don’t have a PhD…everyone in the office had at least a masters degree. The director and associate directors of the undergrad and graduate program would show up whenever they wanted and then leave early, but wanted myself and the assistant director in the office 5 days a week/8 hours a day. They’d complain about their commute and show up late without any regard for the commutes that myself and the assistant director were making to get there everyday. Made it incredibly difficult and would deny vacation or remote work days. The associate director was a tyrant and complained about micromanaging when there was no reason to. The work was always done. There was VERY little work to actually be done when they claimed that the office was a busy, vibrant space which made it even more ridiculous to require 5 days a week work. Especially in the summer! Not a soul walked in unless they needed to find another office or the bathroom. The most unprofessional office space I’ve ever seen. Slamming doors, throwing doors open, stomping, huffing and puffing, banging things in their personal office, accusing people of not doing something and then backtracking/acting fake nice after they were proved wrong. It was actually the worst place to work.