ENGL 1623 English II Syllabus H03 Spring 2026

Academic Honesty
Students are expected to do their own original work in this class. From brainstorming ideas and reading assigned texts to communicating their ideas in their own words – all the work students do in the process of completing assignments must be their own. Cheating, plagiarism, misrepresentation, fabrication, AI usage, etc. are all forms of academic dishonesty and they will not be tolerated in this class.

Cheating
Cheating can take many forms in a classroom: copying or using another student’s work, working in groups on individual assignments (whether openly or in secret), sharing or stealing answers for tests or assignments (either from a classmate or online or in a text), adjusting format to make papers appear longer, using AI to develop part or all of an assignment, making up sources, etc. No form of cheating is acceptable in this course. If the instructor determines cheating has occurred, the student may receive zero points on the assignment or
receive a failing grade for the class with no opportunity for the student to withdraw.

Plagiarism
Plagiarism is defined in KCC’s 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proper attribution, the ideas, writings, paraphrases, data, reports, graphic designs, or computer codes of published or unpublished work of another person in completing an academic assignment.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 includes but is not limited to:

• submitting someone else’s paper
• using published material, including materials published online, without proper attribution
• using AI software or tools (such as Grammarly, Quillbot, ChatGPT, etc.) for homework, quizzes, tests, papers, or any assignment
• paraphrasing or quoting someone without in-text attribution even if the source is included on the works cited page
• improperly paraphrasing (sometimes referred to as “synonym swapping”)
• working with someone (without my permission) to write your paper and presenting it as your own
• submitting a paper you have previously submitted for another class

If you are in doubt, ask me or visit the Writing Studio in person or online.

No form of academic dishonesty is acceptable. Cheating, plagiarizing, misrepresentation, and/or fabrication 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 failure in the class with no opportunity to withdraw) depends on the instructor’s judgment of severity and intentionality. The violation of this course policy will be reported to the Director of Student Success. Repeated instances of academic misconduct may result in suspension from the institution.

A Note on AI

The use of generative AI at any stage of your writing process is not allowed in this class unless directly assigned by the instructor. Any unauthorized use of AI to aid in your writing will result in zero points on the assignment and possible failure in the class without the opportunity to withdraw. The unauthorized use of AI will also be reported to the office of Student Affairs as such use of AI is Academic Misconduct.

Generative AI includes the use of programs such as Grammarly, ChatGPT, Claude, Quillbot, Microsoft Co-Pilot, and any other such programs. While you may have used some of these programs in past or even current classes, they are not allowed in this class unless specifically assigned by the instructor.

All of the assignments submitted in this course are reviewed by a plagiarism and an AI detector. Please note this means all writing is reviewed (e.g. discussion forum posts, quiz answers, papers) and subject to the policies included in the Academic Honesty Policy for the course.

If a submission is identified as AI generated, the instructor may require the student to redo the assignment and complete an additional assignment to demonstrate understanding. All consequences detailed in the Academic Honesty Policy, plagiarism section, are in effect for AI usage.

While the temptation may be great to use AI to generate topics, organize your ideas, revise your work, or even write your entire assignment, this type of use defeats the purpose of this course – which is to teach you how to think, analyze, organize, apply, and create on your own.

Attendance and Participation
This is a course where regular and active participation is of critical importance to your learning and to the experience of your classmates. Additionally, research has shown that regular participation (in this class and all your classes) is a strong predictor of your academic success. Therefore, you are expected to actively participate, engaging with course content, your peers, and your instructor. At the end of the semester, students who actively participated in the class may see their grade increase by up to 5%; conversely, students who do not
engage in the class may see their grade decrease by up to 5%. Further information on the 5% Rule is available in our Canvas course shell.

Credit Hours & Coursework
This course earns those who successfully complete it 3 credit hours. This means you can expect to spend about 9 hours per week on this course: the 3 hours you would normally spend in class and about 6 hours of outside-of-class work. The amount of time required may vary depending on your specific abilities related to the class and the amount and type of homework assigned each week. I did not make up this ratio; it is the standard method of calculating work in college-level classes. It is your responsibility to figure out if you have enough time to succeed in this course while also fulfilling your other responsibilities.

Late Work
Due dates are designed to help you stay on track with course content and be fully engaged with class activities and discussions. Meeting deadlines ensures you are receiving feedback from me to improve understanding and prepare you for the next unit. Submitting late work not only affects your own progress but can also disrupt activities like peer reviews or group discussions. My Late Work policy is detailed in our Canvas course shell.

Technology
Technology is never an excuse for missing assignments. Use your KCC drive, Google Drive, or another cloud-based storage system to ensure you can always access your files. You may be required to work on assignments during class time, on KCC computers, and you must be able to access your work. Submit assignments in advance to minimize last minute problems. Finally, if printed copies of your work are required, you should print prior to the start of class.

Minimum Requirements
Be aware that papers that fail to meet minimum requirements (i.e., minimum word count or page length, number and types of sources, paper type, or paper subject), will not be graded and will receive a failing score of 0%. 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 cover pages, images, charts, and works cited pages do not count toward minimum length or word count 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. 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. Because not all file types are adequately accessible within Canvas, I require all students to submit Word document files for writing assignments. Failure to submit the required file type may result in zero points until resubmission and subsequent point deductions based on the late work policy.

Emailing Me
If you have a question about the course that cannot be answered by reviewing the Canvas course materials, you may email me through the Canvas Inbox. Please note that this is the preferred method of email, not the tdandurand@kcc.edu email address. If, for some reason, you need to 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 tdandurand@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.

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).