Academic Policies
PROGRAM FEES
Students must pay all fees before the program begins. Students who do not pay on time will not be able to attend classes. If you have questions about this policy, please contact our Finance Department: pay-international@usc.edu
LEVEL PLACEMENT
All new students are required to attend two days of orientation which will include an English Placement Exam. If you do not test during the scheduled placement test period, you will be charged a $100 late testing fee for individual placement testing. Pre-Master’s and Master’s Preparation students are waived from the English Placement Exam by submitting an official TOEFL, IELTS, Cambridge Exam, or PTE Academic Test Score Report by the deadline.
CLASS CHANGES STUDENTS IN THE INTENSIVE ENGLISH PROGRAM
New students may submit a Placement Reevaluation Form during the first week. Requests are reviewed carefully. Placement decisions are based on class performance, English ability, and test results. Placement changes are made for language reasons only. We do not make changes to class schedules because of classroom location, teacher preference, or class time. Continuing students are not eligible for a placement review. Level changes will be made based on your performance during the first few days of class.
STUDENTS IN THE PRE-MASTER’S & MASTER’S PREPARATION PROGRAM
Students in the Pre-Master’s and Master’s Preparation programs will move up in level by successfully completing coursework and maintaining a B average. A Placement Reevaluation Form will not be accepted for any Pre-Master’s or Master’s Preparation students. New students that do not meet the expectations of the level will meet with their Program Advisors to draft up a study plan. Master’s Preparation and Pre-Master’s advising provides students with the support they need to complete their programs successfully. Advisors meet with students to assess academic progress during pivotal parts of the term, starting with a mandatory initial meeting. As a result of these meetings advisors provide resources and personalized individual tutoring as needed. Outside of advisor initiated contact, students are encouraged to contact their advisor and setup meetings throughout the term.
FOCUS SKILLS COURSES
Focus Skills courses run for seven weeks. You will not be able to change your Focus Skills Course during the first seven weeks. At the end of seven weeks, you may change your Focus Skills course if you pass the course with a grade of “C” or higher.
Pre-Master’s students:
- If you are required to take the GRE or GMAT courses, you will be enrolled in these courses and may not be able to change until you achieve the required score for admissions to your department.
- All new students must take the Academic Integrity course for seven weeks in their first semester.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING POLICY
At the USC International Academy, we want to help you learn to communicate well in English! As a student in our programs, you will spend time improving your English language skills. To pass our classes, you will need to communicate your own ideas when speaking and writing in English.
As a general policy, we expect students to use English to create assignments and to participate in discussions or in-class activities in our programs. As our programs take place at an American university, all assignments must represent your own work to follow USC’s policy for academic integrity.
ENGLISH LEARNING BEHAVIORS FOR SUCCESS
Successful English learners use English in the following ways:
- Participate in class using English. Use English to communicate with your classmates and instructors when participating in activities inside the classroom.
- Listen or read for your assignments in English. You will need to read and listen in English for your classwork. Sometimes you may want to use a translation tool to understand a word. This is okay. However, avoid translating every word in a reading or listening assignment because you will miss a chance to improve your English. Learning English happens when you listen to or read things that are a little more difficult than your current level.
- Create/draft your assignments using English. You must complete your assignments by yourself to demonstrate your English ability.
- Translating: Using a translator or dictionary to understand a word is okay and can help you learn new vocabulary. However, writing whole paragraphs first in your language then translating to English is strongly discouraged.
- Using Generative AI: You may only use AI tools (e.g. Grammarly) for assignments if permitted by your instructor. Submitting work created mainly by AI without permission violates academic rules. If allowed to use AI, you must cite it. For more guidance on using AI in academic work, please read USC library’s research guide.
- Group work/collaboration: All assignments are expected to be completed individually, unless it is a group or pair project.
- Getting help (friend or tutor): You cannot ask a friend or tutor to create/draft your assignment for you. That violates academic rules. However, you can ask for suggestions to improve the work you drafted.
- Turning in work you completed for another class/school: In U.S. schools, you cannot submit work from a previous class to meet current assignment requirements. This is called self-plagiarism. All classwork should be new/original. You can cite your prior research.
- Communicate your own ideas in assignments and cite any sources you use to support your ideas. In general, most assignments will ask you to share your own ideas using critical thinking (analysis, evaluation, critique, synthesis).
- Using sources: When you communicate your own ideas, you may need to use the work of others (e.g., research) for support. When you use the work of others, you must cite or tell which source(s) you used (e.g., websites, research articles, or videos).
- Citing sources: If your class requires you to support your ideas with outside sources, you will learn how to cite your sources. If you use ideas from another source and do not cite those ideas, you are violating expectations for academic integrity at USC. In academics, using someone else’s words or ideas without giving them credit is like stealing.
- Use tools only with the permission of your instructor. To help you learn English, your teacher may allow you to use tools for some assignments or for brainstorming or editing parts of an assignment. Tools can include AI, grammar checkers like Grammarly, online dictionaries, or a tutor. If you want to use a tool for an assignment, you must ask your teacher for permission BEFORE using any tool.
If you use tools to create an assignment, you must tell your instructor which tools you used. You
can write this information at the bottom of your assignment. For example, “For this assignment I
used Grammarly to check my grammar.”
ENGLISH LEARNING ASSESSMENT
Your teachers will give you feedback on your English to help you improve your language skills. If you submit work that you did not create mainly in English, your teacher may take one or more of the following steps:
Step 1: Have a conversation. Your teacher will discuss with you what part of your work is not consistent with your observed English ability. They may ask questions to check if you understand the vocabulary or information in your work or may ask you to describe the process you used to create the assignment. During the conversation, you should indicate if you used any tools (e.g. AI).
Step 2: Determine revision needed (if possible). Your instructor will indicate what revisions or changes you need to make to your work before it can be graded. Revisions may or may not result in a lower grade (fewer points) which is up to the teacher’s discretion. When revision is not possible your work will be graded based on what you submitted.
Step 3: Grading. Work will be graded based on quality and ability to meet the course/assignment outcomes. Full or partial credit may be given for the assignment and/or revisions. If the teacher determines that you did not create an entire assignment yourself (e.g. most of the work was done by someone else or a tool, or you did not cite a lot of the information), the assignment may receive no points/a zero grade. Depending on how serious the plagiarism is, the teacher may submit your work and file a report with the Office of Academic Integrity after discussing it with you.
PROBLEMS IN CLASS
If you have a problem with your class, homework assignments, teacher, or attendance, you should first talk to your teacher. In America, people prefer that one is direct and honest with them. If you and your teacher are unable to agree on a solution, you should talk to your Program Advisor.
ATTENDANCE
Students are expected to attend every class every day. Students who are absent too often will be warned in writing that they must attend class or risk being dismissed from the school and being out of status with SEVIS. Students who are absent more than 20% of Academy courses are not awarded a certificate of completion.
IF YOU ARE ABSENT OR LATE TO CLASS
- By five to fifteen minutes: you will be marked absent for half an hour (30 minutes). If you are more than fifteen minutes to an hour (60 minutes) late you will be marked absent for one hour.
- If later than that, you will be marked absent for the entire class.
- If the total hours of absence reach 20% of class time at any point in the semester, you will be placed on probation.
- If a student who is on probation continues to miss or be late for classes, the student will be dismissed from the language program and his/her I-20 will be terminated.
NOTIFY YOUR INSTRUCTOR
It is a student’s responsibility to notify an instructor in the event of an absence for any class.
- Notify your instructor BEFORE class that you will be absent.
- Find out what you missed.
- Check with your classmates or instructor to find out what the homework is.
- Make sure you are prepared for the next class.
- If you anticipate being sick more than one day, please notify your instructors and your advisor.
- Students should complete all assignments by the deadline given. In the U.S., it is a student’s responsibility to make sure they understand what an assignment requires and to check the deadline for an assignment. If you are not sure, please ask your instructor before the deadline.
- Students who are unable to submit assignments as the result of illness should notify their instructor as soon as they know that they will be absent from class. Make up work or permission to turn in work late is at the instructor’s discretion.
- Certain scheduled assignments such as group or live presentations, debates, quizzes, tests and final exams may not be taken early or turned in late. Limited exceptions may be made by the instructor in emergencies/cases of hospitalization.
- For other missed assignments (such as homework, in-class assignments, and papers) allowing late or make up work is at the instructor’s discretion. Work may be excused in some cases due to illness.
- As a general guideline, instructors may accept late work up to two weeks after the original deadline to complete an assignment at their discretion. Late work will NOT be accepted more than two weeks after a deadline. (Exceptions are only made for hospitalization.)
LATE ARRIVAL
Students are expected to arrive on time and submit full tuition payment for their studies by the start date of their program. Per Terms & Conditions, students cannot join classes after the 5th day of the program. In exceptional, rare situations, students may receive a special written permission from the program advisor to start classes after the 5th day but before the end of Week 2 of the program. Late arrivals are permitted up to the end of Week 2 of a study program. After Week 2, only cases with extenuating circumstances will be considered for enrollment. All other late arrivals will need to defer
their enrollment to the next available term. Any student who arrives after a program’s start date needs to be aware of the following:
Pre-Master’s and Master’s Prep Programs: The student will not be exempted from classwork and attendance for the days they were not enrolled in classes and is expected to make up missed work as soon as they are able to join the class. Please note: some missed work may not be possible to make up (e.g. graded discussions)
Intensive English Program: Students may be exempt from completing missed assignments that cannot be made up (e.g., speaking test, first unit test); late arriving students should communicate with their teacher on their first day in class and find out what tasks can be made up. Important: It is not possible to make up “attendance”; students are required to attend 80% of their classes.
ATTENDANCE PROBATION
Students who have too many absences are put on probation. Students on probation are in serious danger of losing their full-time student visa status.
In order to maintain full-time student visa status with the university, a student who is on probation must attend all classes and improve attendance.
Students who meet the requirements of their probation and who finish the semester in good standing are allowed to register for the next semester. Those who fail to improve their attendance will be dismissed from the program without refund, will lose their full-time status, will need to leave USC housing, and will not be allowed to register for the next semester.
Students who are absent more than 20% are automatically considered “out of status.” Students who are out of status will not be allowed to enroll again at the Academy.
Students starting any term on probation may be dropped from the program and their I-20 may be terminated if they don’t attend all scheduled classes. Once an I-20 is terminated, students need to leave the U.S.
ACADEMIC DISRUPTIONS
Students must follow the student code of conduct at USC. In the American higher education system, instructors expect students to listen, pay attention, follow directions and to refrain from using cell phones unless directed to do so. A student is considered disruptive when they engage in behaviors which interfere in a significant way with normal teaching activities. These behaviors may include: arriving late and talking, talking while the instructor is talking, asking inappropriate questions that interrupt the flow of class, persistently calling or interrupting an instructor’s office hour/work, showing verbally or physically abusive behavior, or sending threatening email.
If you are observed to cause an academic disruption in a live or online class: Your instructor will give you a warning, explain the behavior that is disruptive and ask you to stop. If you continue this behavior, the instructor may ask you to leave class or refer you to speak to your academic advisor. All academic disruptions will be documented. In the case of violent or threatening behavior, campus police may be called (if in-person).
MISSED WORK
Students should complete all assignments by the deadline given. In the U.S., it is a student’s responsibility to make sure they understand what an assignment requires and to check the deadline for an assignment. If you are not sure, please ask your instructor before the deadline.
Students who are unable to submit assignments as the result of illness, should notify their instructor as soon as they know that they will be absent from class. Make up work or permission to turn in work late is at the instructor’s discretion. Certain scheduled assignments such as group or live presentations, debates, quizzes, tests and final exams may not be taken early or turned in late. Limited exceptions may be made by the instructor in emergencies/cases of hospitalization. For other missed assignments (such as homework, in-class assignments, and papers) allowing late or make up work is at the instructor’s discretion. Work may be excused in some cases due to illness (e.g. COVID-19). As a general guideline, instructors may accept late work up to two weeks after the original deadline to complete an assignment at their discretion. Late work will NOT be accepted more than two weeks after a deadline. (Exceptions are only made for hospitalization.)
Grades & Recognition
GRADES
At the end of each semester (Pre-Master’s and Master’s Prep) or session (Intensive English Program, IEP), USC International Academy students receive final grades which represent their achievement of the learning objectives for each course. Students are expected to make satisfactory progress in their program by earning passing grades for all courses.
PASSING GRADES
In order to pass a course, students must earn a B grade (83%) or higher in core classes, and a C grade (73%) or higher in focus skills and project-based courses.
- Intensive English Program: To be promoted to the next level, you must pass all core classes. In general, a student is allowed to repeat a level only twice.
- Pre-Master’s & Master’s Preparation: If you do not pass one or both core classes, you will have to repeat the entire level the next semester. In general, a student is allowed to repeat each level only once.
PRE-MASTER’S GRADE POLICY
Pre-Master’s students must pass all their classes and maintain an overall B grade point average in order to successfully meet the conditional requirements of their USC admission offer. Pre-Master’s students must also meet any other requirement set by their university department (e.g. GRE score) before they can successfully progress into their graduate program.
GRADE POINT AVERAGE (GPA)
Students will receive a grade report which lists the final grade received in each course and the student’s overall grade point average (GPA).
ACADEMIC RECOGNITION
The Academy chooses several students each term to be recognized with an “Outstanding Student” award. These students have perfect attendance and grades (As) in their program.
ACADEMIC PROBATION
When a student has failing grades at the end of a term, the student may be placed on academic probation. Academic probation is a university warning system designed to alert a student that he/she has a GPA or grade performance that is lower than the program requirement. Students on academic probation are required to meet with their Program Advisors at the International Academy.
Students are expected to make sufficient progress in their language studies as required by their student visa. When a student on academic probation completes a term with passing grades, the academic probation status is removed.
Pre-Master’s and Master’s Preparation Program
- If a student does not pass a level after 14 weeks of study, the student is placed on academic probation.
- The student will have one more 14-week term to demonstrate they can pass the level.
- If the student does not pass the level after two semesters of study, the student may be asked to leave or transfer.
Intensive English Program
- If a student does not pass a level after two 7-week terms of study, the student is placed on academic probation.
- The student will have one more 7-week term to demonstrate they can pass at least one of the required core classes.
- If the student is not able to pass one of their core classes after 21 weeks of study, the student may be asked to leave or transfer.