Course Syllabus

Lansing Community College

Social Science Department

Course Code: ECON 201

Semester: Fall 2010 Unit/Section Code: 70112

Title: Principles of Economics-Micro (hybrid class)

Course Info

Title: Principles of Economics-Micro
Unit/Section Code: ECON 201: section 70112
Class meetings: Tuesdays, 4:10-6:00pm in GB 184 and ONLINE --

Taylor, Timothy; Principles of Economics, published by Freeloadpress, 2008, ISBN: 1-930789-05-X (if you took Econ 201 from LCC last year, this is the same book)

Where to get the textbook: Traditional economics textbooks generally cost $150-$190, which I consider too much. Instead I use a textbook that is available for free online and/or in a printed version for only $32. The book is available online only at www.textbookmedia.com . A direct link to the Taylor book in the Textbookmedia.com catalog is here: http://www.textbookmedia.com/Products/ViewProduct.aspx?id=3265 .

Please note that the book is available in 5 different options:

Sponsored Online only ($9.95) - not printable
Ad-Free Online only ($14.95) - not printable
Digital Bundle: online viewer plus downloadable .pdf files of each chapter ($19.95)
Hybrid: a printed copy is sent to you (a bound 750 page traditional paperback textbook) plus the online version ($31.95)
iPhone/iPodTouch Version only ($9.95) not printable

You may choose whatever option suits you. 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 sponsored online version has a full page ad every 5 or 6 pages, but the ads are easy to skip past. You must also be connected to the Internet whenever you read the online version. I have developed a detailed but short tutorial explaining how to register online and access the textbook which you can view at jimluke.com/taylor/DownloadTaylor.html.

Other Materials/Resources

Use of the Angel Online course site is required and essential (this is an online course, after all)

Links to other resources about economics, websites, 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:

explain the basic problem of scarcity faced by all societies and the resulting need for choice, and list and explain the three fundamental questions (what, how and for whom) that must be answered in any economy because of scarcity

use a production possibilities curve to illustrate opportunity cost, economic growth, underemployment of resources and increasing costs.

use a graph or a numerical example to explain how supply and demand interact to determine the price and quantity sold of a product.

use supply and demand analysis to show and explain the directions of movement of the price and quantity sold of a specified produce that would occur as a result of a hypothetical event or an event in the news.

explain and illustrate with a graph the effects on a market of a government action preventing the price of a good from moving to equilibrium and maintaining that price either above or below the equilibrium price.

explain price elasticity of demand and the relationship between the price elasticity of demand for a product and the effects of a price change on total revenue.

explain marginal utility, the utility maximizing rule, and the income and substitution effects of a price change.

explain the law of diminishing returns and how it affects production and costs in the short run.

explain implicit and explicit cost, the calculation of pure economic profit and the difference between economic profit and accounting profit.

compute average fixed cost, average variable cost, average total cost and marginal cost when given total cost data. Sketch a family of typical short run cost curves and explain the relationships between those curves.

show the typical company's long run average cost curve and explain how it is derived. Explain economies and diseconomies of scale and the causes of each.

list the characteristics of the four market structures (perfect competition, pure monopoly, monopolistic competition, and oligopoly) and give examples of each.

explain and show, using both tables and graphs, how companies in each of these market structures determine the price and quantity that will maximize profits in the short run. Use the table and graph to show the size of the profits or loss.

explain the forces that affect each of these markets in the long run and explain and show graphically the long run equilibrium situation.

explain the goals of productive efficiency, allocative efficiency, and incentives for innovation and how successful each market structure is in achieving those goals.

define and calculate marginal revenue product and marginal resource cost and explain how an individual firm decides how many units of a resource to use and the resource price in markets that are competitive, unionized, and monopsonistic.

describe and analyze the concept of comparative advantage and the effects and costs and benefits of both restricted and unrestricted international trade..

VI. METHODS OF INSTRUCTION

This is a hybrid section, meaning it includes substantial (50%) online work combined with traditional face-to-face instructional methods. The online portion utilizes substantial self-study, online work, online quizzes, and online discussion. Online participation is mandatory. More detailed information on activities, scheduling, and methods is provided in Unit 1 of the course online.

VII. METHODS OF EVALUATING STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT/ PROGRESS

Calculation of Final Grade

190 pts -- Online quizzes for each unit (1 point per question; 14 quizzes of 10-20 questions each; total of 140 questions)

105 pts – 6 Worksheet Exercises and questions (10 points each)

60 pts - three Midterm Tests (20 questions, 1 point each, online, limited availability, timed)
10 pts - Forum postings

125 pts - final exam (2 points per question for 50 questions). The final exam consists of two parts. The first part is the departmental final exam for micro which has 25 questions. The second part is 25 questions that the instructor chooses.

= 500 total possible points

Required Assessments

Quizzes - 190 points: Quizzes are multiple-choice and true-false question tests with only one best answer for each question. Some graphs and calculations may be involved. After completing each unit, students will complete a short quiz of approximately 10 questions. Quizzes are administered online through Angel. Students will be shown their score (# correct) immediately. Students will not be provided correct answers after completing the quiz or later in the course. This is necessary since students will be taking the quizzes at different times and will also have the opportunity to re-take quizzes. Quizzes do not have time limits. Any quiz may be re-taken, but each quiz may only be taken a maximum of two times. The highest of the two quiz submissions will be counted.
Worksheets - 105 points: There will be 10 worksheet assignments worth 10 points each plus a Final Review Exercise for 5 pts. These worksheets are assigned in various different Units. Most, but not all, units will have a worksheet assignment. A worksheet consists of either a table of data and/or graph about an economic situation or problem, or a description of an economic problem. Some initial data is provided and students are expected to calculate the remaining data. After completing the blank parts of the worksheet, you will answer a short series of questions online. The data you calculate will be needed to answer the questions. Worksheet answers may submitted as many times as the student chooses. Worksheets will be discussed in class.
Midterm Tests - 60 points: The three midterm tests of 20 questions each will be taken online. Tests may be taken only once. Midterm tests are timed and limited to 1 hour. Although the tests are online, students are urged to attempt them as closed-book tests so that students are better prepared for the final exam. Midterm tests are only available for a limited time. Students should consult the schedule tab and in-class announcements to determine when tests are available. Some graphs and calculations may be involved - you may want to have a simple calculator and/or scratch paper available when you take the test.
Forum Postings - 10 points: There are two mandatory forums, one in the first unit and one in the last unit. Students will receive 5 points for posting.in each.
Final Examination - 125 points: The final exam will be comprehensive and will have two parts. The departmental part will consist of 25 multiple choice questions and the instructor part will be 25 questions. Each question will count for 2.5 points each. The final exam will be taken in class on the last day, December 14.

Grading Scale for Overall Course Grade

Total Points	%	Course Grade
460-500	92%	4.0
430-459	86%	3.5
405-429	81%	3.0
380-404	76%	2.5
355-379	71%	2.0
330-354	66%	1.5
305-329	61%	1.0
< 304	<60%	0.0

Extra Credit

No extra credit is available in this course..

VIII. COURSE PRACTICES

College-wide policies are stated in the Lansing Community College Catalog and include those on attendance, withdrawals and incomplete grades. The catalog is available on the internet at http://www.lcc.edu/catalog/. Additional Course Practices in this class are found on the Angel website for this course.

Late Enrollment

In keeping with the department and program policy on late enrollment, students may only enroll in this course until Sept. 1. If they are enrolling after Aug 23, they must already be registered for another full-semester course at LCC. It the student is enrolling after the first class meeting, an instructor's signuature is required.

Scheduling and Due Dates

We will be covering approximately one unit each week. Since this is a hybrid course, it is essential that students come prepared for class by having read the material for that Unit. Topics are posted in the Schedule tab on Angel. Quizzes for units may be taken as the student feels prepared for them as long the student doesn not fall more than 2 Units behind the class lecture. STUDENTS ARE STRONGLY ADVISED TO KEEP PACE WITH THE LECTURES.

Fixed deadlines:

Unit 1 Quiz must be completed by September 7.
Midterm Test #1 (online) opens on September 22 and closes on (tentative) October 6

Midterm Test #2 (online) opens on October 23 and closes on (tentative) October 30

Midterm Test #3 (online) opens on November 20 and closes on (tentative) November 30 .

All online quizzes, midterm tests, and worksheets for units 1-12 must be completed before Dec 5.

The Final Exam must be taken in class Dec 14..

Drop for Non-Attendance

Attendance will be recorded in-class but doesn't count toward the final grade. Students may determine their own schedules for working online within some limits. Students may be DROPPED for NON-ATTENDANCE, IF ANY of the following occurs:

the student fails to attend class for 2 consecutive weeks without notifying the instructor.

the student is 2 or more units behind the class lecture in submitting quizzes and worksheets (example: class lecture is on Unit 11 and student hasn't completed quizzes/worksheets for Unit 9)

they do not access the course online and do not complete a quiz or worksheet for two weeks (while behind schedule) without consulting with the professor

they do not complete all quizzes, worksheets and midterm tests up to and including Unit 12 by Dec 5.

The instructor will review the participation and submissions of students several times throughout the semester. Students who do not make regular submissions and do not notify the instructor of their plans will be dropped.

Withdrawal

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.The instructor can and will drop students for non-attendance prior to Nov 23 if he sees prolonged periods of inactivity (see Drop for Non-Attendance policy above).

Discussion & Collaboration

Students are encouraged to assist each other in learning and mastering the material, particularly when dealing with the problem worksheets. A discussion forum will be provided for this use. Collaboration, however, is only for students to help each other understand the material. Trading, sharing, or publishing of specific answers to specific quiz or exam questions is prohibited and will be considered a violation of academic integrity.

Access

Lansing Community College has accommodations available for students with documented disabilities. If you need accommodations, contact the Office of Disability Services at 483-1207 in room 2300 GVT to coordinate reasonable accommodations for documented disabilities.

IX. OUTLINE OF COURSE CONTENT

The course is divided into 14 Units. Unit 1 and Unit 14 are an introduction to the course and a summary/conclusion of the course. The organization of the course does not directly follow that of the textbook chapters. Required readings for each Unit are described in each Unit's Reading Guide. For more information and details see the Lessons tab and the Schedule tab of the course website on Angel.

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

College Policy

The very nature of higher education requires that students adhere to accepted standards of academic integrity. Therefore, Lansing Community College has adopted a code academic conduct adn a statement of student academic integrity. These may be found in the Lansing Community College Catalog. The violations of academic integirty listed and defined are cheeating and plagiarism. It is the student's responsibility to be aware fo behaviors that constitute academic dishonesty.

Classroom behavior that interferes with the instructional process is not tolerated. The consequences are addressed under Administrative Withdrawal.

Additional Instructor's Policy

I wish to encourage discussion between students and sharing of ideas and information. One of the best methods for learning and truly grasping economic concepts is to explain them to others. Students are welcome to assist each other in learning. However, the direct exchange of answers to questions without discussion, argument, or reasoned explanation is viewed as academic dishonesty. I reserve the right to reject the score of any assessment that I suspect may have been obtained dishonestly and not through student learning, even without proof of any dishonest actions by the student. In such cases, an alternative assessment will be made available except if it is the Final Exam.