Policies and Well-being | USC CSCI 544 Fall 2026 Policies and Well-being | USC CSCI 544 Fall 2026 Policies and Well-being | USC CSCI 544 Fall 2026 Policies and Well-being | USC CSCI 544 Fall 2026 Policies and Well-being | USC CSCI 544 Fall 2026
USC CSCI 544 Fall 2026

Course Policies and Student Support

Submission and Grading

Homework is due at 2:59 PM on the due date and must be submitted through Brightspace. Late submissions without prior approval, such as approval for a medical condition, will not be graded. Grades will normally be available within 2-2.5 weeks.

Late-Day Tokens

  • Each student receives six late-day tokens for the semester.
  • Tokens may be used on homework, the paper review, and eligible project deliverables. They may not be used on quizzes, presentations, or the final project report.
  • At most three late days may be used on one assignment. Partial late days are not allowed.
  • For a team deliverable, each teammate must spend a token for each late day they wish to cover. Token use is tracked per student.
  • Each late day beyond the allowed tokens incurs a 20% assignment penalty.
  • Unused tokens cannot be converted to credit.

Academic Integrity

All work must be original and prepared specifically for this course and section in this academic term. Students may not submit work written by others or recycle work from another course without written permission. Suspected misconduct will be reported to the Office of Academic Integrity and may lead to failure on an assignment or the course, suspension, or expulsion.

Misconduct includes cheating, plagiarism, fabrication, collusion, knowingly assisting academic dishonesty, and any act intended to gain an unfair academic advantage. See the USC Student Handbook, the Office of Academic Integrity, and the policy on Research and Scholarship Misconduct.

Use of AI Generators

Generative AI is permitted only when an assignment explicitly says it may be used. AI tools may produce incorrect information, biased responses, or incomplete analyses. Students must cite any AI-generated material included or referenced in their work and provide the prompts used. Unattributed AI-generated content will be treated as plagiarism and reported to the Office of Academic Integrity. Follow each assignment's specific instructions.

Plagiarism and Collaboration

Collaboration
Submit work that demonstrates your individual mastery of course concepts.
Group work
Unless an assignment is specifically designated as a group project, it must be completed individually.
Work by others or generative AI
Plagiarism includes submitting code or assignments written by, or otherwise obtained from, someone else or generative AI.

Ask the instructor if you are unsure what constitutes unauthorized assistance or what requires citation or attribution.

Course Content and Recordings

USC prohibits recording a class without the instructor's express permission and an announcement to the class, except under an OSAS accommodation. Course notes, recordings, exams, and other course intellectual property may not be distributed or used outside individual or group study without express permission. See the USC Student Handbook.

Course Evaluations

A university-wide course evaluation will occur at the end of the semester. The course will also conduct a mid-semester evaluation.

Disability Accommodations

The Office of Student Accessibility Services (OSAS) determines appropriate accommodations for students who encounter disability-related barriers. After completing the OSAS process, provide the Letter of Accommodation to the instructor and follow up with a discussion as early as possible; accommodations are not retroactive. Visit osas.usc.edu, call (213) 740-0776, or email osasfrontdesk@usc.edu.

Support Systems