Lansing Community College
Social Science
Department
Section
Syllabus - ECON 202 for Fall 2009, CRN: 40134
Course and Section Information:
| Course
Code: |
ECON 202 |
| Title: |
Principles of Economics - MACRO |
| Semester: |
Fall 2009 |
| Class
Meetings: |
CRN 40134: T & Th 12:10-2:00pm in
GB178
|
Instructor & Contact Information:
| Instructor: |
Jim Luke |
| Office: |
LCC Main Campus, A&S Building, Room 361E |
| Phone
& Voice Mail: |
517-483-5384 (office)
313-550-8884 (cell + text) (best)
|
| Email: |
lukej@lcc.edu (preferred for all email. I discourage
use of Angel email) |
| Office
Hours: |
T
& Th 11am-12pm; 2-4pm; others by appointment; check my schedule here for availability. Always best to call/email/text ahead for an appt. |
I. Course Code: ECON 201
II. Prerequisite
Reading Level 5
Math Level 4
III. Course Description
This course is designed to develop objective consideration of economic
issues and provides information and understanding of how resources are
allocated by prices. Topics for study include price theory, consumer
demand, cost and market structure, the role of government in the
market, resource pricing, and international trade.
IV. Instructional Materials
A. Required Textbooks:
Taylor, Timothy; Principles
of Economics, published
by Freeloadpress, 2008, ISBN:
1-930789-05-X
Where
to get the textbook: Traditional economics textbooks generally
cost $150-$190, which the Econ faculty at LCC considers too much.
Instead we use a textbook
that is available for
free
online or
in a printed version for only $29. The book is available online only at www.textbookmedia.com .
You may choose either the online or printed versions, or both.
HOWEVER I STRONGLY RECOMMEND GETTING A PRINTED OR PRINTABLE
VERSION. Students with printed versions seem to do better in the
course and student feedback suggests it is the better option. The
free online version has a full page ad every 5 or 6 pages, but the ads
are easy to skip past. You can purchase a paperback copy of
the text printed in black and white without ads
for $29.90 plus $5.00 shipping through the textbook's website, but that
is not required. I have developed a detailed
tutorial explaining how to register online and access the textbook which you can view at jimluke.com/taylor/DownloadTaylor.html.
B. Other Materials and Resources
The course website on Angel is required. Readings for each
unit are provided on the Angel website. "Units" covered in the
course DO NOT correspond directly to "chapters" in the textbook.
Links
to other resources about economics, websites, copies of in-class slide
presentations, and practice quizzes are
available on the Web through the LCC Angel site for this course.
V. Student Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this course, the successful student will be able to:
- Calculate, explain, and evaluate measures of
aggregate
output, aggregate income, the price level, unemployment and the balance
of payments.
- Describe the types of unemployment.
- Describe the components of aggregate demand, their
relative
size in the U.S. economy, and their historical volatility.
- Describe and explain the aggregate flows of an
economy
between households, firms, government, and rest-of-world sectors
through product, resource, and financial markets.
- Describe and evaluate macroeconomic policy goals and
trade-offs.
- Describe the federal budget process, surplus or
deficit,
and public debt, and their impact on the economy.
- Explain verbally and graphically and apply the
aggregate
demand and aggregate supply model.
- Explain and analyze the classical theory of
macroeconomic
equilibrium and the resulting implications for the role of government.
- Explain and analyze the Keynesian theory of
macroeconomic
equilibrium and expenditure multiplier effects and the resulting
implications for the role of government.
- List and explain the tools of fiscal policy and
describe
and show graphically how those tools can be used to achieve
macroeconomic goals.
- Define money, describe the banking system, and
explain the
process by which the banking system creates money.
- Describe and define the functions and policy tools of
the
Federal Reserve System and explain how actions of the Federal Reserve
System affect money supply and interest rates.
- Describe and show graphically how actions by the
Federal
Reserve can be used to achieve macroeconomic goals.
- Explain and analyze the Monetarist view of policy,
macroeconomic equilibrium and the resulting implications for the role
of government.
- Explain and contrast the views of the effectiveness
and
desirability of using activist and discretionary policy to achieve
macroeconomic goals.
- Describe the process by which exchange rates are
determined
and the macroeconomic impact of changes in exchange rates.
VI. Methods of Instruction
Lecture
and Discussion: This section of the course will primarily utilize
lecture and discussion. In-class exercises solved in small groups will
occassionally supplement the lecture. Questions are encouraged.
VII. Methods of Evaluating Student Acheivement and Progress:
A. The following methods are used in this class:
|
Assignment
|
%
of Final Course Grade |
| Best 3 grades (not scores)
on Mid term tests |
75%
(25% each for 3 tests) |
| Final
Exam |
25% |
| Total
for Course |
100% |
Descripton of Graded Assignments:
Highest three mid-term tests and the final exam are all equally
weighted (25% each) in calculating the overall final course grade. The
final exam is required. Test “grades” are averaged,
not scores. A score is the number of questions correctly answered. The
test grade is based on the 4.0-0 scale. A grade is established for each
test based upon a "curve". The lowest grade of the four mid-term tests
is dropped from the calculation. The highest three mid-term tests and
the final exam are all equally weighted (25% each) in calculating the
overall final course grade. The final exam is required.
4 Mid-Term Tests
Tests are multiple-choice and true-false question tests with only one
best answer for each question. Some graphs and calculations may be
involved. Students are only permitted to use simple calculators,
although most students find they do not need them. No notes or books
are permitted during tests. International students may use
language-translation dictionaries. Tests are multiple-choice and
true-false question tests with only one best answer for each question.
Some graphs and calculations may be involved. Students are only
permitted to use simple calculators, although most students find they
do not need them. No notes or books are permitted during tests.
International students may use language-translation dictionaries. The
instructor MAY choose to make one or two of the tests "take-home" tests.
Final Examination
The final exam will be comprehensive and will have two parts. The
departmental part will consist of 25 multiple choice questions and will
count as 50% of the final exam grade. The instructor part consists of
25 questions selected by the instructor and will count as the other 50%
of the final exam grade.
B. Grading Scale:
The College Standard
grading scale will be used:
| Course Grade |
| 4.0 |
Excellent |
| 3.5 |
|
| 3.0 |
Good |
| 2.5 |
|
| 2.0 |
Satisfactory |
| 1.5 |
|
| 1.0 |
Poor |
| 0.0 |
No
Credit |
Note on Test Grades:
Each test will be graded and given both a score and a grade.
The score is the absolute number of correct answers provided
by the student. The grade is based on the 0.0-4.0 scale above and is
based partly on the distribution of all test scores in the class. Only
grades will be used to calculate final course grades. Due to
changes in the distribution of scores through the class from test to
test, it is likely that the a particular score on one test will result
in a different grade than that same score on a different test.
VIII. Course Practices and Policies
College-wide policies are stated in the College Catalog and include
those on attendance, withdrawals, and incomplete grades. The
College Catalog is available on the Internet at
http://www.lcc.edu/catalog/.
Lansing Community College provides services to students with
documented
disabilities. If you need accomomdations, contact the Office
of
Disability Services at 517-483-1207 in room 2300 of Gannon Building to
coordinate reasonable accomodations for your needs.
Additional course policies and practices for this course are:
Attendance in Lectures
Attendance is required. In addition, it
helps you learn better, faster, and easier. It's a more efficient use
of your time and that's good economics.
Drops and Withdrawals
Students are advised to
familiarize themselves with the LCC Withdrawal Policy. It is available
on the Internet at http://www.lcc.edu/policy/policies_9.aspx#W_GRADE.
Under this policy, students may withdraw themselves from the course
until the end of the eighth week. Between the 8th week and the end
of the 14th week, students
must be passing and have the permission of the instructor to withdraw.
Such requests should be addressed to the instructor by email. There can
be NO WITHDRAWALS after the 14th week. All students remaining
enrolled in
the class after the 14th week must receive a final course grade.
Students who have extended absences from class without
discussing it
with the instructor, or who miss two or more tests without
notice, or
who
engage in uncivil activity are subject to Administrative Withdrawal by
the Instructor before the 14th week.
Make-up Tests
Students are expected to make a strong effort to take all tests
in-class on the appointed day. Students ARE NOT AUTOMATICALLY ENTITLED
TO MAKE-UP EXAMS. If a student cannot attend class to take the test on
the scheduled day, the student should not automatically expect to be
allowed to take a make-up test since students may "drop" their lowest
test score. Make-up tests will only be permitted under these conditions:
- Student has notified the instructor of the need & reason for taking a makeup PRIOR to the giving of the test in class.
- Student has a substantial reason or excuse for not being able to take the test on the appropriate day.
- The make-up test is completed before the next regular class meeting after the scheduled test day.
Extra Credit
Extra Credit work is NOT available. The grading system and the
subject content of the 4th test and the final exam are designed to
allow a student who is carrying a poor grade late in the course to be
able to significantly improve their course grade. Any extra
effort late in the term is best applied to preparing for these tests.
IX. Detailed Outline of Course Content and
Sequencing
Detailed information on the course outline, activities, assigned
readings, and test dates is available on the Angel website for the
course. The Angel site should be checked regularly as test dates
are subject to change. Students must consult the list on Angel to know
the proper readings for each unit of the course. Unit numbers in the course do NOT correspond directly to chapter numbers in the book.
TENTATIVE Schedule of Test Dates
These dates are subject to change. Actual dates will be announced in class.
| Test 1 |
Units 2-5 |
Sept 17
|
| Test 2 |
Units 6-8 |
Oct 13
|
| Test 3 |
Units 9-11 |
Nov 12
|
| Test 4 |
Units 12-13 + review of earlier units
|
Dec 3
|
| Final Exam |
comprehensive |
Dec 10
|
X. Transfer Potential
For transferability information, please consult the Transfer Equivalency List located on the Internet at http://www.lcc.edu/transfer.
For additional transferability information contact the LCC Counseling
Services Department, (517) 483-1255. The MACRAO Transfer Agreement
simplifies the transfer of students from one Michigan institution to
another and appears in the catalog.
XI. Student Academic Integrity
The very nature of higher education requires that students
adhere to
accepted standards of academic integrity. Therefore, Lansing
Community College has adopted a code of academic conduct and a
statement of student academic integrity. These may be found
in
the Lansing Community College Catalog where violations of adademic
integrity are listed and defined. Such violations include
both
cheating and plagiarism. It is the student's responsibility to be aware
of behaviors that constitute academic dishonesty. Classroom and online behavior that interferes with the
instructional
and learning processes is not tolerated. the consequences are
addressed in the catalog under Administrative Withdrawal.
Instructor's Policy re: in-class exams:
All in-class tests are closed-book exams. If there is evidence of
academic dishonesty, I may choose any of the following options
individually or in combination: deduct points from an exam score, lower
a student's overall grade in the course, change the relative weights of
tests for a particular student, request a student to take a replacement
exam, request a student to move to another part of the room, request
the student to take the exam at the Assessment Center, and/or report
the matter to higher authorities for further disciplinary action.
Any behavior during a test which makes the instructor
uncomfortable or suspicious is sufficient for action to be taken.
Proof of dishonesty is not required, the instructor's or
proctor's judgement is sufficient.
Instructor's Policy re: Take-Home Tests:
Take-home tests are by their nature open-book and open-note. Each
student is to determine their answers to each question independently.
Students are permitted to discuss questions with each other and to
discuss economic ideas, methods, and techniques. However, the exchange
of specific answers between students is prohibited. If I suspect that a
student's answer sheet does not reflect their own independent judgement
and effort, I reserve the right to either deduct points, assign a grade
of 0.0, or to require a replacement assignment/test. Again,anything
regarding a test which makes the instructor uncomfortable or
suspicious of it's integrity is sufficient for action to be taken.
Proof of dishonesty
is not required. The instructor's or proctor's judgement is
sufficient.