Schedule of Classes: Summer 2012: General Registration Information: University Policies

University Policies

Academic Probation/Mandatory Advisement

An undergraduate student whose overall GPA falls below 2.0 is on academic probation. Continued enrollment requires clearance from an Academic Review Department counselor. When the overall GPA falls below 2.0, the student must seek academic advisement prior to course selection each semester. The student must file proof of advisement with the Academic Review department before any registration request is processed. The Academic Review Department will only accept an official Retention Advisement Record form with an authorized school signature as proof of advisement. Students may obtain the form in Trojan Hall 101.

Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action and Non-Discrimination Policy

The University of Southern California is an equal opportunity employer and educator, proudly pluralistic and firmly committed to providing equal opportunity for outstanding men and women of every race, creed and background. The university strives to maintain a community in which each person respects the rights of other people to live, work and learn in peace and dignity, be proud of who and what they are, and to have equal opportunity to realize their full potential as individuals and members of society. To this end, the university places great emphasis on those values and virtues that bind us together as human beings and members of the Trojan Family. The university enthusiastically supports this policy in its entirety, and expects that every person associated with the university will give continuing support to its implementation.

The university is committed to complying with all applicable laws and governmental regulations at every level of government which prohibit discrimination against, or which mandate that special consideration be given to, students and applicants for admission, or faculty, staff and applicants for employment, on the basis of any protected category, including race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, physical disability, mental disability, marital status, veteran status, genetic information, or any other characteristic which may be specified in such laws and regulations. Gender includes both the actual sex of an individual and that person’s gender identity, appearance or behavior, whether or not that identity, appearance or behavior is traditionally associated with that person’s sex at birth. This policy applies to all of the university’s educational programs and activities including admissions, and all personnel actions including but not limited to recruiting, hiring, promotion, demotion, compensation, benefits, transfers, layoffs, return from layoff, provision of leaves, training, education, tuition assistance and other programs. In addition, an otherwise qualified individual must not be discriminated against in, or excluded from, admissions, participation in educational programs and activities, or employment solely due to his or her disability. The university seeks compliance with all statutes prohibiting discrimination in education, including Title VI and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 which respectively prohibit discrimination. This good faith effort to comply is made even when such laws and regulations conflict with each other.

The university will make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with known disabilities unless doing so would result in an undue hardship. Further information is available from Human Resources Administration at uschr@usc.edu or (213) 821-8111.

The Disabled/Veterans Affirmative Action Plan may be reviewed by employees and applicants upon request. For further information or to make an appointment during regular business hours, contact OED (see below).

Questions regarding the application of the various rules and regulations concerning equal employment opportunity, affirmative action, and non-discrimination should also be addressed to OED (see below). The university’s Title IX Coordinator and the university’s AgeDA Coordinator is Jody Shipper, Executive Director of the OED, University Park Campus, Los Angeles, California 90089.

Office of Equity and Diversity (OED)
www.usc.edu/dept/hr/equity_diversity/
oed@usc.edu
(213) 740-5086

Discrimination, Harassment, Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault

The University of Southern California is committed to maintaining an environment that is free from discrimination and harassment, including sexual harassment; the university expects that all members of the university community – faculty, staff, and students – should be able to pursue their work and education in such an environment.

The university is committed to complying with all applicable laws and government regulations which prohibit discrimination, harassment (including sexual harassment), and retaliation. University employees (and students covered by this policy) who violate this policy will be subject to appropriate disciplinary action, including termination or dismissal for cause in accordance with university policies.

Student-on-student sexual harassment and assault is covered under separate policy.

Prohibited Behaviors

Discrimination – For the purposes of this policy, “discrimination” refers to the unfair treatment of a person or group because of that person’s or group’s protected category status, as defined in the university’s Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action and Non-Discrimination policy.

Harassment – Physical or verbal hostility, or any unwelcome or offensive conduct or communication, directed toward someone or toward a group of individuals, because of their protected category status.

Sexual harassment – Unwelcome sexual advances; requests for sexual favors; or any other verbal or physical conduct or communication of a sexual nature when:

Submission to such conduct is either explicitly or implicitly made a condition of an individual’s employment, appointment, admission or academic evaluation, or used as a basis for evaluation in personnel decisions or academic evaluations; or
Such conduct has the purpose or effect of interfering with an individual’s work or academic performance, or creating an intimidating, hostile, offensive or otherwise adverse working or learning environment.

Specific examples of sexual harassment include, but are not limited to, making written, verbal, physical and/or visual contact of a sexual nature:

Suggestive or obscene letters, notes or emails
Comments, jokes, slurs or epithets of a sexual or sexist nature, requests for sexual favors, repeated and unwelcome propositions for dates
Assaults, body contact or touching, impeding or blocking movement
Inappropriate display of sexually explicit objects, pictures, cartoons, drawings, posters, computer screensavers, Websites, or movies; sexual gestures.

All employees must periodically complete required awareness training programs provided by the university. For faculty, failure to complete the required training shall be handled according to the appropriate provisions of the Faculty Handbook. For staff, failure to complete the required training shall be grounds for discipline which may include termination.

Sexual assault – For the purposes of this policy, sexual assault is defined as any physical sexual act (including but not limited to actual or attempted intercourse, sexual touching, fondling, and groping) perpetrated upon a person:

without their consent;
where the assailant uses physical force, threat, coercion, or intimidation to overpower or control another,
where the victim fears that he or she, or another person, will be injured or otherwise harmed if he or she does not submit;
where the victim’s ability to give or withhold consent is impaired due to the influence of alcohol or other drugs;
or where consent is otherwise not freely given.

Retaliation – The law, university policy and the Student Conduct Code all prohibit threatened, attempted, or actual retaliation against anyone who, in good faith, brings a complaint of discrimination or harassment as they are defined in this policy; participates in a discrimination or harassment investigation; or protests the alleged discrimination, harassment or retaliation.

Any incident of retaliation must be reported immediately to the OED or any Designated Recipient (see the OED Website for details on Designated Recipients). Complaints of retaliation will be investigated. Retaliation may include, but is not limited to, the following acts, when such action is taken because the individual brought forward a complaint, participated in an investigation, or protested the alleged discrimination, harassment or retaliation:

Adverse employment or academic action
Lowering a grade
Giving a poor academic recommendation
Exclusion from employment or educational opportunities
Limited scholarly activities (e.g., exclusion from teaching or research, or interfering with publication)
Spreading negative information about individual involved in complaint.

Reporting Violations

Violations of this policy must be reported immediately to the OED or any Designated Recipient (see complaint reporting procedures on the OED Website) for investigation.