As the chief governing body of the University, the Board of Trustees delegates the powers of the president and the faculty in accord with its policies. Subject to the review of the president and the Board of Trustees, the faculty retains legislative powers in all matters pertaining to the standards of admission, registration, instruction, research, extracurricular activities, requirements for and granting of degrees, the curricula, the discipline of students, the educational policies and standards of the University, and all other matters affecting the conduct of academic affairs.
The University reserves the right to make changes in curricula, degree requirements, course offerings, and all academic regulations whenever, in the judgment of the faculty, the president, or the Board of Trustees, such changes are in the best interest of the students and the University.
Registration at the University of South Carolina assumes the students’ acceptance of all published regulations, including both those which appear in this document and all others as applicable in any official announcement such as the Medical School Bulletin, Law School Bulletin, Graduate Studies Bulletin, the University Master Schedule of Classes, or the Carolina Community. Official policies of the University listed below are published in the Carolina Community, which is available online as well as through the Student Government Office or the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs.
1. Student Rights and Freedoms within the Academic Community
2. Rule of Academic Responsibility and Academic Disciplinary Procedures
3. Grievance Policy and Procedures for Non-Academic Areas
4. University Policy on Use of Alcohol
5. University Policy on Campus Solicitation
6. University Policy on Student Patent and Copyright Matters
7. Student Right to Know
Unforeseen circumstances may interfere with the scheduling of a course or degree offering. Students must accept such developments even if doing so will mean a delay in some of their academic goals or a modification of those goals. The departments concerned will work closely with students facing such problems in an effort to resolve them with a minimum of difficulty.
The University reserves the right to withdraw any course because of inadequate enrollment. Additional courses may be offered upon application of a sufficient number of students; a minimum of 10 applicants is the usual requirement. Registration in any course may be closed when the maximum enrollment for efficient work has been reached.
An undergraduate student may choose to obtain a degree in accordance with the curricular requirements in force for the particular degree at the time the student first enrolls as a baccalaureate degree-seeking student at any campus of the University, or under subsequent requirements published while the student is enrolled. However, the student’s choice is restricted to a specific archived bulletin and the curricular requirements described therein. Undergraduate students have a period of eight years, inclusive and continuous, in which to claim the rights of a specific archived bulletin.
Within the eight-year limit, an undergraduate student who is absent from the University for no longer than three years, and who returns to complete a program of study, shall have the right to continue under the bulletin in effect at the time of the student’s original enrollment as a baccalaureate degree-seeking student. Alternatively, the student may elect the degree requirements under the bulletin in effect at the time of return. If the period of absence is longer than three years, the student will be subject to the curricular requirements in force at the time of return. Under no circumstances will students be allowed to appeal to short-lived rules and regulations which were adopted and abandoned during the period of their absence.
If drastic revisions of curricula or program requirements have occurred during a student’s absence (even if for less than three years), or during the period between the student’s original enrollment as a baccalaureate degree-seeking student and eventual movement to a different degree program or campus within the University, a reasonable effort will be made by the academic dean to permit the student to undertake a transitional program that is equivalent to the educational experience intended under the bulletin in force at the time of the student’s original enrollment as a baccalaureate degree-seeking student.
Right of Petition
Students who consider that they are entitled to relief from or deviation in the academic regulations of the University or their college should apply to the Scholastic Standards and Petitions Committee of the college in which they are enrolled.
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