This page summarizes what I expect about academic integrity and conduct in my classes, and includes some pointers to resources students may find helpeful.
Academic Integrity
Plagiarism–presenting someone else’s ideas as your own, either verbatim or recast in your own words–is a serious academic offense with serious consequences. At USC, please familiarize yourself with the discussion of plagiarism in SCampus’ Student Conduct Code..
My statement: All students are required to abide by the USC Student Handbook. I follow their guidelines in handling any issues about conduct. If you have any questions about the responsibilities of either students, faculty, or graders under this policy, contact me, the TA or OAI at the USC Office of Academic Integrity.
All assignments involving programming will be compared against each other both by hand and via computer to detect assignments that have code in common. Sadly, I have failed far more students than I would like due to copying code or text from others. I don’t want to do this to you, but I will (and have in the past, more often than I like).
All text answers are expected to be in your own words. If you find you need to quote from some source, as always in any academic paper, you need to indicate what text you take by placing text that you quote in quotes and indicating where it is from. In general, if a reader can’t tell where the material is from, they assume it is your new material—if this is not the case, something is wrong. If you have any questions about how to quote or cite material, please talk to the professor.
I take academic integrity very seriously. I’m sad to say that I regularly fail students because of plagiarism on programming assignments. I don’t want to do this to you, but it is my responsibility to all students to ensure that people’s work is evaluated fairly; getting credit for work someone else’s work represented as your own is not fair to the many students who did the work themselves and will be treated accordingly.
Academic Conduct
Discrimination, sexual assault, and harassment are not tolerated by the university. You are encouraged to report any incidents to the Office of Equity or to the Department of Public Safety. This is important for the safety whole USC community. Another member of the university community–such as a friend, classmate, advisor, or faculty member–can help initiate the report, or can initiate the report on behalf of another person. USC Sexual Assault Prevention and Survivor Services provides 24/7 confidential support, describes reporting options, and provides other resources.
My statement: Safety and non-discrimination are very important. About two things I do (so there is no confusion): I grew up in the U.S. midwest and so sometimes use ``you guys’’ as the second person plural. If I use it, I don’t mean it in a gender-specific term. Also, when I ask about names, pronunciations, or other information, it’s because I try hard to get them correct (or at least less bad–José and Josie have very different pronunciations).
USC Support Systems
A number of USC’s schools provide support for students who need help with scholarly writing. Check with your advisor or program staff to find out more. Students whose primary language is not English should check with the American Language Institute, which sponsors courses and workshops specifically for international graduate students. The Office of Student Accessibility Services provides certification for students with disabilities and helps arrange the relevant accommodations. If an officially declared emergency makes travel to campus unfeasible, USC Emergency Information will provide safety and other updates, including ways in which instruction will be continued by means of blackboard, teleconferencing, and other technology.
My statement: In my view, the best way to improve writing and communication is to practice. I recommend you start writing up your research as soon as possible. If you have health issues or disabilities that need addressing in the classroom, please talk to me.