Course Name:
Principles of Microeconomics
Course Number: ECON 2323
Course Credit:
3 credit hours
Instructor: Ruth Schaa
Office Hours: Posted on
Office Door (AC 109)
Telephone: (870) 248-4000, ext. 4137.
You may leave
a voice mail if I am not in my office.
e-mail: ruths@blackrivertech.org
Web address http://faculty.blackrivertech.org/rschaa
Course Description: Emphasis is
placed on value, prices, distribution, international economics, and current
problems. A student whose placement
score requires DVED0023
Course Objectives: The student
should be able to explain the basic economic problem, identify and describe
specific economic issues, and analyze and evaluate the available policy
alternatives. The student should also be
able to reason accurately and objectively about economic issues and to write
and speak about those issues in a clear concise manner using proper grammar,
punctuation, spelling, and syntax.
Prerequisite: None.
Text: McConnell
& Brue, Microeconomics, 15th Ed. McGraw-Hill Irwin.
Pedagogical Procedures and
Assessment Methodology: Class sessions will include instructor
lecture, student presentations, and class discussion. All students are expected to contribute
meaningfully to the class by participating in the classroom discussions and
group presentations. The quality of your
contributions will naturally influence your grade. Participating candidly in discussions will
be without penalty to your grade & will provide important feedback for
future class planning.
Course Requirements and Methods of Assessment:
Attendance: Students are
expected to attend class regularly and to be punctual in order to complete
satisfactorily this course. If a student
is absent, the student is responsible for contacting the instructor on the
first day back to make up work missed.
Excessive absenteeism may result in loss of credit for the course. Excessive is defined as two times the number
of times the class meets per week.
To ensure attendance in class, pop quizzes, which
cannot be made up, may be given.
Class
Participation and Behavior: Class participation is a vital part of the
learning environment. Therefore, each
student is expected to participate in classroom discussions, answer questions,
and offer input. Students are also
expected to behave in a professional manner while in class. In accordance with college policy, food and
beverages are not permitted in the classroom.
Homework
Assignments and Measures of Assessment:
1. Students should read each chapter
before the lecture and/or discussion.
2. Students
should listen to local, state, national, and international news broadcasts and
read state and national newspapers and magazines. Students will be responsible for class
discussions. The students’ critical analysis of the news broadcast will serve as
the students’ assessment of their knowledge of microeconomics; the
students are encouraged to identify political bias and any reporter’s bias.
3. Students will summarize business news articles. The summaries will be turned in on the second
Wednesday of each month and the last class meeting for each month. Summaries are due on the assigned dates;
however, summaries, with applicable penalty, will be accepted within one week
of the assigned date. Late assignments are assessed a ten percent penalty. The
grades of the summaries will be averaged and will be worth a test grade. Each
summary will be graded for content, grammar, spelling, and appearance. They must be typed or computer
generated. Summaries must be in the
required format, MLA. The students are
encouraged to identify political bias and any reporter’s bias and to state
their own viewpoint or opinions with supporting statements. Articles will be
graded as follows:
current article -20
points
spelling errors -10
repeated spelling error -3
grammatical error -3
format error -5
punctuation errors -1
not relevant to course -10
plagiarism -30
4.
Students will
answer any supplementary problems or assigned questions in the textbook. These may be collected and graded for a
homework grade. Assigned homework is
due on the assigned date; however, homework, with applicable penalties, will be
accepted within one week of the assigned date.
A ten percent penalty will deducted from the score. The students’ oral or written responses will
serve the instructor as an assessment of the students’ knowledge of microeconomics.
5.
Students will
lead class discussions on assigned chapters.
Students will be in groups of two or three, and
each group member will be responsible for a classroom presentation of a chapter
or sections of chapters. The students’
presentations will serve as an assessment of the students’ knowledge of
microeconomics topics.
Exams
and Make-ups: The exams consist of true/false, multiple
choice, short answer, or essay question.
The instructor reserves the right to deviate from the described test
format. Test results and scores will
only be distributed in class after the tests have been graded; usually, this is
the next scheduled class period. Do not
call the college or the instructor for your grades.
If a student misses a scheduled exam, the instructor
and the student will schedule a date for the make-up exam. Only one missed exam will be permitted per
semester per subject. Emergencies and
sudden illnesses will be taken into consideration.
Students will not be allowed to retake an exam for any
reason.
Assessment
Points:100 points each
exam
50 points each collected and graded
homework
100 points each news articles
100 points group presentation(s)
Grading
Scale: 90-100 A
80-89 B
70-79 C
60-69 D
Below 60 F
Academic
Dishonesty Policy: Cheating will not be tolerated. The first offense will result in an
"F" for that grade and the second offense
may result in dismissal from the course.
Students seeking
***This syllabus is tentative
and is subject to change, if necessary***
Assignments:
1 –
3
4 –
6
1 –
6
7 –
9
10 –
11
12 -
13
07 –
13
14 –
15
16 –
17
18 –
19
14 –
19
Handout
20 –
21
22 –
23
24 –
25
20 - 25
Topic
Nature & Method of Econ; The Economizing Problem;
Demand & Supply
The
Market System; Private & Public Sectors; The
Review & Exam #1
Elasticities
& Government-Set Prices; consumer Behavior & Utility Maximization The Costs of Production
Pure
Competition; Pure Monopoly
Monopolistic
Competition & Oligopoly; Technology, R & D, and Efficiency
Review & Exam #2
Demand
for Resources; Wage Determination
Rent,
Interest, & Profits; Government & Market Failure
Public
Choice Theory & Taxation; Anti-trust, Regulation, & Industrial Policy
Review & Exam #3
Individual
Presentations
Agriculture;
Income Inequality & Poverty
Labor
Market Issues; Economics of Health Care
International
Trade; Exchange Rates, Balance of Payments, & Trade Deficits
Review & Final
Exam