Frequently asked questions
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Frequently asked questions
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USC is committed to creating an environment in which our community feels safe, heard, and protected. When someone has been affected by the conduct of another, it is important to provide support and resources swiftly and with care, which is why we created one simple destination for all your reporting needs.
The USC Report & Response website is an easy-to-use portal where USC community members (students, faculty, staff, patients, and visitors) can make a report – anonymously if preferred – of an incident they have witnessed or experienced that violates university policies or goes against our Unifying Values.
The Report & Response website is one location for reporting all concerns, including those involving policy violations, unprofessionalism, and other misconduct. When you use the Report & Response website to make a report, you may select from the following categories:
· Academic Misconduct
· Accounting and Auditing Matters
· Alcohol / Drug Abuse
· Athletic Compliance
· Conflict of Interest
· Data Privacy and Confidentiality
· Hazing
· Healthcare Patient Care
· Malicious/Inappropriate Use of Technology
· Misappropriation of Assets/Resources, Embezzlement or Theft
· Prohibited Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation
· Research or Scientific Misconduct
· Staff/Faculty Behavior and Professionalism
· Unsafe Working Conditions
· Violence or Threat
· Other
For events presenting an immediate threat to life or property or if you require emergency assistance, please contact your local law enforcement by dialing 911 or USC’s Department of Public Safety (DPS) at the following phone numbers:
• University Park Campus: 213-740-4321
• Health Science Campus: 323-442-1000
We all have the right to work, learn, live, and thrive in a safe and positive environment. To maintain a healthy and productive environment for all, every member of the USC community has the responsibility to act in an ethical manner by following our university policies and living our Unifying Values. Additionally, by working together and reporting when they have witnessed or experienced that violates university policies or goes against our Unifying Values, we can maintain a healthy and productive environment.
We certainly do. In fact, we need you to report concerns. You may have initial knowledge of an activity that may be cause for concern. Your reporting can minimize the potential negative impact on the university and our people. Also, offering input may help identify issues that can positively improve university culture and climate.
Further, many USC faculty and staff have reporting responsibilities, such as Mandated Reporters in certain instances involving minors or elder abuse; Clery Campus Security Authorities (CSAs) for crimes outlined in the university’s Clery policy; or as Designated Employees under the university’s Policy on Prohibited Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation. Designated Employees include faculty, academic advisors, staff, and student employees in supervisory positions (e.g., teaching, research, and residential assistants) who must report any knowledge of sex or gender-based harassment and violence.
Anonymous concerns are managed through a third-party platform called EthicsPoint, and your identity will never be known to USC unless you choose to disclose it. When reporting anonymously online through the EthicsPoint reporting portal, it does not generate or maintain any internal connection logs with IP addresses, so no information linking a USC computer to EthicsPoint is available. A report from home, a neighbor’s computer, or any other personal device connected to the internet will remain secure and anonymous. Communications between USC staff and the person making an anonymous report are managed within the EthicsPoint platform, maintaining anonymity while exchanging important information.
It is important to note that there are times when reports made anonymously may limit the university’s ability to fully investigate concerns. USC strives to educate reporters when there are limitations to available resolution options. If you choose to provide your identity, USC will make every effort to maintain your privacy, whenever possible.
Yes. Reports through the 24/7 telephone option are managed by a third-party platform called EthicsPoint. Your identity will never be known to USC unless you choose to disclose it. When reporting anonymously by phone, a telephone representative will ask for the same information that you would provide in an online-based report, including whether you would like to make your report anonymously. The representative will then provide a written report of your concerns without your identity known to USC. These reports have the same security and privacy measures applied to them during delivery.
When a report is submitted through the USC Report & Response website or the telephone option, it is first received by the Office of Professionalism and Ethics (OPE) team. With decades of experience in assessing and resolving academic and workplace complaints, expertise across law and policy, and a diversity of backgrounds, OPE staff will assign it to the appropriate investigative office to assist with response and resolution. OPE will also evaluate for any statutory or policy reporting requirements, such as Title IX and Clery Act reporting.
Reported concerns are available only to specific individuals within the university who are charged with evaluating the report and initiating the appropriate resolution based on the type of violation and location of the incident.
There are a myriad of resolution options depending on the type of concern, severity of the reported conduct, and status of involved persons (e.g., student, staff, faculty, or others). The university takes each concern seriously, and the Office of Professionalism and Ethics works to ensure the appropriate university office is assigned to review and resolve each, based on policy and/or best practices considering the information available. Resolution options will often be communicated to the individual making the report so there is an understanding of the process. Certain university policies might guide or mandate specific response options based on the underlying information provided.
Some of the offices typically assigned to review reported concerns include, but are not limited to, Human Resources (including Employee & Labor Relations); Faculty Affairs; Office of Community Expectations; Office for Equity, Equal Opportunity & Title IX; Employee & Labor Relations; Office of Culture, Ethics, and Compliance; Office of Athletic Compliance; Audit Services; Office of Research; Department of Public Safety; as well as others.
Once you submit a concern through the Report & Response website, you will receive an automated message that includes your submission. Within 24 to 48 business hours, the Office of Professionalism and Ethics (OPE) will then provide confirmation of your reported concern, either through email or – if submitted anonymously – through the EthicsPoint third-party vendor system. Once OPE determines the appropriate university office responsible for reviewing the reported concern, that office will respond within a reasonable period and provide any relevant updates.
Review Faculty and Staff Reporting Responsibilities for more information on Designated Employees and your reporting responsibilities.
Faculty and staff reporting requirements are based on the university-wide Policy on Prohibited Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation (the Policy), which details reporting responsibilities related to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, as well as the current Resolution Agreement with the Office for Civil Rights, California Senate Bill 493 and the Clery Policy.
Faculty and staff reporting requirements are based on the university-wide Policy on Prohibited Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation (the Policy), which details reporting responsibilities related to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, as well as the current Resolution Agreement with the Office for Civil Rights, California Senate Bill 493, and the Clery Policy.
To ensure that the university has a comprehensive process for centralized reporting and responding appropriately to notice of sex discrimination, the following are Designated Employees who are required to report prohibited conduct to the Office for Equity, Equal Opportunity, and Title IX (EEO-TIX):
· Faculty
· Academic advisors
· Staff employees, including student employees who hold supervisory positions
· Teaching assistants
· Research assistants
· Residential assistants
Designated Employees must report disclosures, reports, or other known information about the following forms of prohibited conduct, as defined in the Policy:
· Harassment and discrimination based on protected characteristics (i.e., sex, race, disability, religion, etc.)
· Sexual and gender-based harassment, including Title IX sexual harassment
· Sexual assault
· Dating and domestic violence
· Stalking
· Non-consensual viewing, recording, and dissemination
· Exposure
· Complicity
· Retaliation
Reports must be made to EEO-TIX and can be made in one of the following ways:
· in-person at USC’s King Hall 101,
· by telephone at 213-740-5086,
· by email at eeotix@usc.edu, or
· via the Report & Response website by selecting the “Report as a Trojan” option. The Report & Response website is Shibboleth protected and allows for confirmation of reporting by a Designated Employee.
The following are Campus Security Authorities (CSAs) who are required to immediately report potential Clery Act crimes:
· Any member of the Department of Public Safety (DPS)
· Individuals with responsibility for campus security in some capacity
· Individuals or offices where a university policy directs students, staff, or faculty to report criminal offenses
· Officials with significant responsibility for student and campus activities, including but not limited to student housing/residential education, student discipline, and campus judicial proceedings
CSAs must immediately report potential Clery Act crimes, including sexual offenses, observed by them, or reported to them by other individuals, based on the report itself, without regard to whether the alleged crime actually occurred. This includes information received by a CSA from a confidential resource.
Reports must be made:
· through the CSA Crime Incident Report Form,
· directly to DPS, or
· to the Office of Clery Compliance.