PSYC 2513 Abnormal Psychology Syllabus 010 Fall 2026

Plagiarism, is defined in section 16.2 of the Code of Conduct: “Representing the words or ideas of another as one’s own. Plagiarism includes claiming credit for assignments completed by someone else.” All instances of intentional plagiarism on any major assignment for this course will lead to the immediate failure of the course with no opportunity for the student to withdraw. The instance of plagiarism will be reported to the Dean of Student Development. If the student has a second instance of plagiarism reported to the Dean of Student Development, the student may be suspended from the institution.

Academic Integrity: Students are expected to submit honest, original work. Examples of 
cheating include copying another students’ work, using another’s work (including artificial 
intelligence) without appropriate references, or submitting your own work that has already been 
used in another class. The college regards cheating as a very serious offense and may result in 
failure of the class and dismissal from the college.

Artificial Intelligence (AI): AI programs can serve as helpful tools in the learning process. However, they cannot be used as a substitute for writing. Acceptable uses of AI for this course include assistance with grammar, spelling, and writing mechanics. However, using AI to generate content for a paper, assignment, or discussion post is considered plagiarism and is not appropriate use. Such use will result in, at minimum, a zero for the assignment without opportunity for resubmission, and may result in failure of the course. Academic dishonesty on a major assignment such as papers, case studies, and exams will result in failure of the course.

Any use of AI should be properly referenced in the References. This source can provide guidance: https://apastyle.apa.org/blog/how-to-cite-chatgpt

A record of the chat must also be submitted as an appendix.

Attendance policy: Attendance is essential to success in this class. Lecture and class 
discussion will clarify as well as build upon information from the text. Participation in group activities and class discussion will enhance your learning and make the class more interesting for everyone. You will receive a participation grade that will be based on your attendance and participation in class and in group activities. As a result, failure to attend class regularly will impact your grade. I understand that some absences are avoidable. However, if you miss more than 2 classes, you will lose points towards participation. If you miss a class, you are responsible for getting notes from a classmate or Canvas. Failure to attend on the day you are assigned to lead discussion will result in a zero for that portion of Discussion points. If you are texting in class then you will be counted as absent for part or all of that day.

Late assignments: All assignments are expected at the beginning of class on the due date assigned. Should unusual circumstances arise that delay your work, you may turn in a case study up to one week late with a deduction of a full letter grade for that assignment. After one week, late submissions will receive a two-grade penalty. Only two case studies may be submitted late within the term.

Due to the nature of Learning Curve assignments, they will not be accepted late.

Cell phones: Cell phones, iPods, and other electrical devices must be silenced during class. Students texting during class will be counted as absent for that day.

Writing style: All coursework must be typed and completed in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA style). Abbreviations such as those used when texting (i.e., “u” instead of “you”) is NOT appropriate and work containing such abbreviations will not be graded. Instead, it would be returned to you for corrections and you will immediately lose one letter grade for that assignment. Once you have made corrections, you may turn in the assignment for grading. You will lose an additional letter grade for each week the assignment is late.

Class preparation: You are expected to come to class ready to learn. Our class time will be divided among class discussion, in-class activities, exams and lecture. The reading assignments should be read BEFORE each class so that we can all discuss the topic intelligently. The classes were created with the assumption that everyone will have read the required material prior to class. Sometimes the classes may cover a particularly difficult or important idea from the text, but generally they will involve a discussion of what the text has covered as well as an attempt to further apply and/or analyze what you have already read. It is essential that you complete the reading before each class. Not only will the reading allow you to understand the class more completely, but it will also allow you to contribute to class and your discussion group.

Contacting the instructor: E-mail is the best way to contact me. I usually check my e-mail several times a day and strive to get back to messages within 24 hours. However the response time is lengthened to 48-72 hours over the weekend. Please use your KCC email account to email me as any other account might be flagged as spam and not delivered.