Graduate students at USC are held accountable for maintaining academic integrity while enrolled at the university. Please read SCampus to learn about some of the potential violations of academic integrity and the possible sanctions that could be applied to students who do not meet the standards.
USC faculty teaching graduate courses are required to report any suspected cases of violations of academic integrity directly to the university. If this happens to you, you will receive an email notifying you of the concern. You can read about your rights during the process in Scampus Section B.13. After you receive notification, you will be asked to meet with Rossier’s Academic Integrity Coordinator for an overview of the process and your rights. Next, you will meet with your instructor and the Academic Integrity Coordinator to discuss the facts of the incident. During this meeting, you can present documents and evidence. After the meeting, the instructor will submit a determination of accountability and a sanction. If you disagree, you will have the right to appeal to the Rossier Dean (or designee).
You can connect with your program office team during this process for additional support, and for advice about whether the process affects subsequent semester course choices.
To best position yourself to maintain academic integrity, in addition to reading SCampus you can also review the USC Libraries resources on plagiarism and correct citations:
- USC Libraries Understanding and Avoiding Plagiarism Module 1: https://libraries.usc.edu/tutorial/understanding-and-avoiding-plagiarism-module-1-what-plagiarism-what-citation
- USC Libraries Understanding and Avoiding Plagiarism Module 2: https://libraries.usc.edu/tutorial/understanding-and-avoiding-plagiarism-module-2-citing-avoid-plagiarism
- USC Libraries Recognizing Plagiarism recorded workshop: https://youtu.be/kuHM2GbNZIE
If you have questions about how to complete a course assignment, or if you need help with your thesis or capstone, please let your instructor or faculty advisor know.