Research for College 3: Academic Integrity

Academic Integrity at USC

The university as an instrument of learning is predicated on the existence of an environment of integrity. As members of the academic community, faculty, students and administrative staff share the responsibility for maintaining this environment. Faculty have the primary responsibility for establishing and maintaining an atmosphere and attitude of academic integrity such that the enterprise may flourish in an open and honest way. Students share this responsibility for maintaining standards of academic performance and classroom behavior conducive to the learning process. Administrative staff are responsible for the establishment and maintenance of procedures to support and enforce those academic standards. Thus, the entire university community bears the responsibility for maintaining an environment of integrity and for confronting incidents of academic dishonesty.

Policy on Accommodations for Students with Disabilities

The University of Southern California is committed to full compliance with the Rehabilitation Act (Section 504) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). As part of the implementation of this law, the university will continue to provide reasonable accommodation for academically qualified students with disabilities so that they can participate fully in the university’s educational programs and activities. Although USC is not required by law to change the “fundamental nature or essential curricular components of its programs in order to accommodate the needs of disabled students,” the university will provide reasonable academic accommodation. It is the specific responsibility of the university administration and all faculty serving in a teaching capacity to ensure the university’s compliance with this policy.
The general definition of a student with a disability is any person who has “a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more of such person’s major life activities,” and any person who has “a history of, or is regarded as having, such an impairment.” Reasonable academic and physical accommodations include but are not limited to: extended time on examinations; advance notice regarding booklists for visually impaired and some learning disabled students; use of academic aides in the classroom such as note-takers and sign language interpreters; accessibility for students who use wheelchairs and those with mobility impairments; and need for special classroom furniture or special equipment in the classroom.