ENGL 1623 English II Syllabus 060 Spring 2026

Course Policies

Student Support Hours: I encourage all my students to reach out to me when they have questions, concerns, or a desire for additional support in my classes. If you need to meet outside my scheduled times, please email me to request a weekday appointment (with at least 24 hours advance notice). Also let me know if you prefer to meet virtually (e.g., via Zoom, WebEx, or another virtual conference platform) or on-campus in my office.

Failure Policy: Students are required to complete and submit the four major assignments listed in the Methods of Evaluation section of this syllabus. If you do not complete any one of these assignments, you will automatically fail the course.

Absences: In this 16-week face-to-face course, “attendance” is measured both by attendance during our weekly in-person class meeting and meaningful participation online (course-related communication with the professor & submission of assignments in Canvas). Students who don’t attend class, submit work, or communicate meaningfully with me for more than two weeks (14 or more consecutive days) may be withdrawn from the class, regardless of any impact on financial aid.

Late Work: With very few exceptions, I rarely accept late work in this class; from small to large assignments, everything is due at the indicated date and time in the course calendar or as instructed by me, the professor. Be prepared and manage your time wisely. Any extensions to due dates have to be agreed upon with the instructor before the assignment is due (email me to make the request); extensions are never guaranteed, but you may request one so long as you don’t abuse this privilege. Note: in-class workshops cannot be submitted late, since by their nature they involve collaboration with other students.

Technology: All assignments must be submitted in their appropriate place in Canvas. Lost or accidentally deleted files will not be an acceptable excuse for not submitting work. Be sure back up your work. Students are expected to have sufficient technological skills to complete the requirements of the course, which include using Canvas features, formatting and typing written work, submitting files to Canvas, emailing, using presentation tech (like Google Slides or PowerPoint), recording a video using Canvas Studio or similar tech tool, etc. For this online course, students must also have access to a computer with the internet on a regular basis. Facing technical problems? Contact KCC’s ITS Helpdesk at 815.802.8900 or helpdesk@kcc.edu.

Academic Misconduct (e.g., Cheating & Plagiarism): Cheating can take many forms in this class: copying or using another student’s work, adjusting format to make papers appear longer, working in groups on individual assignments (whether openly or in secret), sharing or stealing answers for tests or assignments, using AI to write part (or all) of an assignment, etc. Section 17.6B of the Student Code of Conduct explains that cheating also includes, “Submitting the same paper, report, or other assignment for more than one course without the expressed permission of the faculty member. If a student believes that he/she can complete an assignment that meets the requirements of two or more faculty members, he/she should obtain prior approval from all faculty involved.”

Plagiarism is also defined in section 17.6B of the Student Code of Conduct: “Taking, reproducing, and/or using as one’s own, without proper attribution, the ideas, writings, paraphrases, data, reports, graphic designs, or computer codes of published or unpublished work of another person in completing an academic assignment. Prohibited conduct may also include the unauthorized submission for credit of academic work that has been submitted for credit in another course.”

Plagiarism in this class includes but is not limited to:

• submitting someone else’s work or work written by AI (like ChatGPT or similar AI)
• using published material, including materials published online, without proper attribution
• paraphrasing or quoting someone without attributing the quote in your paper with a correct in-text citation, even if the source is included on the works cited page; improper paraphrase (sometimes referred to as “synonym swapping”) may also be plagiarism if the attempted paraphrase too closely imitates the writing style (including syntax) of the original source
• failing to clearly indicate when you are using quoted materials by not including (or properly formatting) quotation marks
• working with someone (without my permission) to write your paper and presenting it as your own

If you are in doubt, ask me or visit the KCC Writing Studio before you submit your assignment.

No form of academic dishonesty is acceptable. Cheating or plagiarizing on any assignment in this class will have consequences and will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. The severity of consequence (from automatic failure on the assignment to possible immediate failure of the course with no opportunity for the student to withdraw) depends on the instructor's judgment of intentionality. The misconduct will then be reported to the Director of Student Success. If the student has a repeated instance of academic misconduct reported to the Director of Student Success, the student may be suspended from the institution.

Minimum Requirements: Be aware that papers that fail to meet minimum requirements (i.e., minimum word count or full-page length, number and types of sources, paper type, or paper subject determined by the instructor), will receive a failing score of 0%. Thus, a paper that is too short, missing the correct number and type of sources, or off-topic assignment-wise will fail with a 0. You are in college—partial work does not always receive partial credit. Also note that works cited pages do not count toward minimum length requirements and block quotes (quotes of four lines of text or longer) may not be used in papers for this class. Finally, simply meeting the minimum length and source requirements does not guarantee a passing grade.

Required Document Format: All papers submitted for this course must be typed with 1-inch margins in Times New Roman 12-point font (you may have to make changes in Word's default page setup). They must also adhere to 2021 9th edition MLA (Modern Language Association) style guidelines where specified. Any differences will be noticed. Failure to adhere to these requirements may result in point deductions or even failure (0%) on an assignment if the problem persists.

Mandatory File Type for Assignments: Current KCC students may freely use Office 365 products. It’s also very easy to download a Google Doc as a Word file, which you could then upload to the Canvas assignment (this 30-second video tutorial shows you how). Because not all file types are adequately accessible within Canvas, I require all students to submit Word document files for writing assignments.

Revisions: The student may choose to revise all major writing assignments for a higher grade (limited to 90% of the original points possible). Such a revision must include substantial improvements to be considered. Making surface-level changes (i.e., punctuation or grammar mistakes) isn’t typically considered “substantial.” You must submit the revision to the original assignment’s dropbox by the revision due date. If you fail to follow any of the details of these instructions when revising, I reserve the right to return your revision without re-grading it.

Communication: The best way to know what to do for class is to consult the syllabus, course calendar, and our Canvas course. If you have a question about what's due, consult these resources first. If neither the instruction materials nor your classmates can answer your questions, then you may email me. There are two ways to email me: through Canvas (preferred) or through KCC’s email. If you email me through Canvas, no worries. If, however, you email me through KCC’s email, be sure to include the following: your full name and what course you are taking with me (also, if you email me at kstevenson@kcc.edu, then you should use your KCC student email address; other email addresses may be filtered & I won’t even see them). I will communicate important course-related info via Canvas email or Canvas announcements. Check your email often—at least every 2 days. I will typically respond to emails within 24 hours, though sometimes it may be longer. You may also be expected to participate in online class discussions that are open to all students’ view.

Title IX: Students sometimes choose to share private information with their professors. We appreciate your trust! Nonetheless, students need to be aware that KCC faculty and certain staff are required to report any incidents of sexual harassment and/or violence that we may hear about. Specifically, we will contact KCC’s Title IX Coordinator, the Dean of Student Development and Services. Please don’t feel like you can’t reach out but be aware of our requirement to report. If you want to speak with someone who is not required to report, please know that you are very welcome to call the county’s confidential sexual assault hotline (no referral is necessary, and your anonymity is guaranteed unless you choose to share your name): 815-932-3322 (Kankakee) or 815-432-0420 (Iroquois).

College Policies

For information related to the Student Code of Conduct Policy, Withdrawal Policy, Email Policy, and Non-Attendance/Non-Participation Policy, please review the college’s Code of Campus Affairs and Regulations webpage, which can be found at catalog.kcc.edu.

Resources

KCC offers various academic and personal resources for all students. Many services are offered virtually, as well as in person. Please visit Student Resources to access student resources services such as:

• Clubs and organizations
• Counseling and referral services: For more information, go to https://www.kcc.edu/student-resources/counseling-and-referral-services/.
• Office of disability services: KCC works closely with students and instructors to accommodate individual student learning needs. For the services they offer, their contact information and other helpful information, go to www.kcc.edu/disabilityservices.
• Tutoring Services: Tutoring assistance is free to all currently enrolled KCC students. Our tutor program is certified by the College Reading and Learning Association (CRLA). For schedules, resources, and other helpful information, go to www.library.kcc.edu/tutoring.
• Miner Memorial Library: The Miner Memorial Library provides a variety of services free to students. For the services they offer, their hours of operation, and other helpful information, go to www.kcc.edu/library.