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Community Standards and Student Policies

Pratt’s policies and community standards have been formulated to foster and encourage a spirit of concern and respect for others, reflecting our commitment to the values of responsible freedom and interdependence. They are designed to ensure that your life at Pratt can develop in an atmosphere conducive to learning and to personal and communal growth.

All members of the Pratt community are expected to know and understand these standards, particularly those required by law, such as issues relating to the use of alcohol and controlled drugs, and sexual harassment.

Community Standards

Pratt Institute’s mission is to educate students to become creative, responsible professionals who will contribute fully to society. The Institute upholds values and standards that support that mission and holds high expectations regarding the conduct of students, faculty, staff, and administrators. Above all, we respect one another and behave in ways that advance the free association of people and ideas. We cherish the diversity represented by our people and their disparate values and ideas. At the same time, we expect each student to value and uphold the community standards essential to the pursuit of academic excellence and social responsibility.

Pratt Institute takes the view that any action by one person that causes harm to another person will not be tolerated. Bullying, harassment, or any behavior that causes disruption to a community member’s ability to learn conflicts with the values of Pratt Institute and violates the community member’s right to feel protected, nurtured, and valued.

The Board of Trustees reinforced these ideals by passing a resolution on freedom of expression in 1992:

“It is resolved that: Pratt Institute supports and upholds freedom of speech and other forms of expression because these freedoms are essential to an educational mission and to ideas, values, and opinion. At the same time, Pratt recognizes that such freedoms exist in the context of law and responsibility by one’s actions and, therefore, the exercise of these rights must not deny the same rights of others.”

Such is the spirit in which our social and academic standards have been articulated and herein promulgated.