Download Course Syllabus

St. Petersburg College
Social and Behavioral Sciences Department
Syllabus for ECO 2013 – Principles of Macroeconomics – Online, Fall, 2016
Last update: August 3, 2016
Instructor: J. Scott Gustafson, Adjunct Faculty
Class # 2406 & 2549 Online
E-mail: Please use email inside MyCourses
Web Page: https://www.spcollege.edu/instructors/id/3051
Scott's Economics Bookmarks: http://delicious.com/gr8econ
Academic Program: Social and Behavioral Sciences
Dean: Dr. Joseph Smiley
Office Location: Tarpon Springs, PS-105, (727) 712-5851
Academic Chair: Dr. Douglas Rivero
Office Location: Seminole, UP 337F, (727) 394-6948
Course Outline: This is a course in economic principles involving the overall operation of the market
economy. Particular attention will be given to the effects of aggregate demand and aggregate supply on
the levels of output, employment and prices. The course will also examine how fiscal and monetary policy
may be used in dealing with macroeconomic problems such as unemployment, inflation and economic
fluctuations. This is a Gordon Rule course. Course prerequisites: ENC0020 and REA0002.
Required Text: Macroeconomics, 10th Edition, by Boyes & Melvin
Additional Reading: Business pages of the newspaper (print or on-line) and business news web sites.
About the Book: Note that we're using the tenth edition. If you want to save money on the book, get a
9th edition. The changes between the editions are minimal and are concentrated in the first 4 chapters.
Course Structure: The course is broken up into 5 units. Each unit generally includes 3-4 chapters you
need to read in the book, an online quiz for each chapter, a unit discussion question, a written assignment
and an online exam.
Online Resources: We will be using MyCourses for this course. The course content is contained in the
unit pages. Those pages also include a bunch of resources for you. Log in through
mycourses.spcollege.edu (But then again, you already knew that.)
Grading: Your grade will be determined by your performance in four areas, exams, online quizzes,
discussion questions and written assignments.
Two types of exams will be offered. The first option is a 30 question multiple choice exam with two short
answer questions. The second option is a 10 short answer question exam. Pick one. Alternately, take
both and you get the higher grade. Exams will generally be available online for a period of about 4 days.
The exams will be worth 100 points each. Exams are online and open book and open note.
During Finals Week, a comprehensive final exam will be offered. It replaces your lowest exam grade. If it
is your lowest exam grade it gets tossed so you can't get hurt taking the final. Alternately, if you are
satisfied with your grade after the fifth exam, you need not take the final.
There is an online quiz for each chapter consisting of 10 multiple choice questions pulled randomly from a
larger set of questions. You get five cracks at each quiz. Your highest score is the one that counts. The
online quiz for each chapter should be completed prior to the exam covering those chapters. There are 16
online quizzes.
There is a discussion question for each of the 5 units worth 20 points each. Each discussion question has
two parts.
First, for 10 points, post one original Response (via Reply) of 100 words or more to the posted unit
discussion question before 11:00 p.m. Monday of the week assigned. Five points will be deducted if the
word count requirement is not met. Late postings after 11:00 p.m. Monday will not be accepted for any
credit.
Please do not repeat the question in your Response. Sometimes (but not always) the question is a
subjective (opinion) question with no right or wrong answers, but still try to use some of the concepts,
terms, and ideas from the current unit within your answer.
Second, for 10 points, you are required to Reply (via Reply) with 50 words or more, on a different day
from your question Response, to one other classmate's Response before 11:00 p.m. Thursday. Five
points will be deducted if the minimum word count or different day requirement is not met. It must be
substantive though, meaning something other than “I agree” or “way to go” or “nice job.” Explain why you
agree, disagree, or ask for clarification if necessary.
Late postings after 11:00 p.m. Thursday will not be accepted for any credit.
Written assignments will be short written papers and graphing activities that show that you understand
and can apply what we're learning. There will be 4 of these at about 25 points each. Assignments will be
posted on the course web page. Assignments may be corrected and re-submitted.
At the end of the semester, consideration will also be given to class participation and attendance.
The grading scale will be:
A 90% and above
B 80% to 89.9%
C 70% to 79.9%
D 60% to 69.9%
Failing – below 60%
Attendance: Expect to show up online at least twice a week.
Three times during the semester I will need to inform the college of those who are Actively Participating in
the course.
Active Participation: Active participation is defined in two ways: regular attendance and completing
assigned coursework. In terms of regular attendance, active participation is defined as accessing the
course and completing an activity at least twice a week. Active participation is also defined as completing
assigned coursework. This includes tests, quizzes, homework, projects and in-class activities. If students
have more than two unexcused absences or incomplete coursework, students must contact the instructor
to determine an academic plan for successful completion of the course. If students have violated the
active participation policy in terms of attendance or completing coursework, and if students have not
contacted the instructor to establish a plan for completion of the remaining requirements of the course,
then students will be reported as not actively participating in the course, which may result in a grade of
WF. If you are in your third attempt at completing a course, you will be given a grade of “WF” at any point
you attempt to withdraw or at any point you violate the active participation policy.
Week 1, and Week 2 attendance will be determined by whether you accessed the course and completed
an attempt of an online chapter quiz. 60% attendance will be determined by exam completions to date.
Due Dates: My flexibility on due dates is dependent upon who is affected.
Discussion due dates are hard and fast because they don't just affect you and me, but also everyone else
in the class.
Exams have a window that is difficult to adjust just for you.
Assignments just affect you and me. Get them done on time to make it easier on both of us. You can also
resubmit an assignment for a better score after the due date (up until the middle of finals week.)
Online quizzes have a due date so that MyCourses will nag you about getting them done. You can take
the online quizzes up to 5 times and they don't shut off until the middle of finals week.
Accommodations: If you wish to receive special accommodations as a student with a documented
disability, please make an appointment with the Learning Specialist, SS 104, 791-2710. If you have a
documented hearing loss, please contact the Program for the Deaf/Hard of Hearing, SS 101, 791-2628
(V/TDD). If you will need assistance during an emergency classroom evacuation, please contact your
campus Learning Specialist immediately about arrangements for your safety. The telephone numbers for
the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities are 791-2628 or 791-2710.
Office Hours: I will be on Seminole campus Tuesday and Thursday during the semester. You can find
me between 11:00 a.m. and noon in the LSC. I will be on the Clearwater campus Monday and
Wednesday between 11:00 a.m. and noon in the writing center. Or we can set something up via email.
Contacting Scott: For email, my preference is that you use the course email via MyCourses. It is selfcontained and if you can see that you sent it, then you know that I got it. It also automatically tells me who
sent it, when, which class you are in, and there is no spam.
Alternately, you can use my faculty email account. Note that I get a lot of email in my faculty account. I
suspect that I'll get e-mail from your campus account, home account and perhaps business account.
Hence, to help me sort it out and get you an answer sooner rather than later, include the course and class
number in the subject line. Include your name in the first line of the message so I know who I'm
conversing with. (It also reduces the questions from my wife about what I've been up to when I start
getting e-mail from some of your more creative e-mail addresses.)
Generally when I reply to email, I will "reply to all." That means that if you want to ask a question from one
account (example – business e-mail) and receive a reply at another (example – home or campus) then
CC: your other account. That way my reply will go to both places. If you don't do this, don't expect it to
happen.
Changes: Although I don't anticipate changes, the above may be changed during the semester in order
to better meet course objectives.
Major Learning Outcomes:
1. The student will acquire knowledge of the basic tools needed to understand current macroeconomic
theory.
2. The student will develop an understanding of the basic theories involved in the study of
macroeconomics.
3. The student will develop an understanding of the operation of the market economy.
4. The student will develop an understanding of how economists measure production.
5. The student will develop an understanding of the effects of aggregate demand and aggregate supply
on the levels of output, employment, and prices.
6. The student will understand of the different types of fiscal and monetary policy tools used in the United
States.
7. The student will gain an understanding of the accomplishments and limitations of monetary and fiscal
policies.
8. The student will develop skills needed to apply basic macroeconomic principles.
9. The student will demonstrate knowledge of personal financial planning.
Course Objectives Stated in Performance Terms:
1. The student will acquire knowledge of the basic tools needed to study current economic theory. Each
student will demonstrate this knowledge by his/her ability to:
a. define economic terminology
b. identify and recall mathematical formulas used to solve problems involving basic economic principles
c. identify, illustrate, and interpret graphs
d. recall basic math and algebra
2. The student will develop an understanding of basic economic theories involved in the study of
macroeconomics.. Each student will demonstrate this understanding by his/her ability to:
a. illustrate these principles graphically
b. identify and explain these principles
3. The student will develop an understanding of the operation of the market economy as evidenced by
his/her ability to determine changes in equilibrium price changes in equilibrium price and output under
given market situations.
4. The student will develop an understanding of the role of how economists measure production as
evidenced by his/her ability to:
a. recall formulas involving national income accounting
b. solve mathematical problems involving national income accounting
5. The student will develop an understanding of the effects of aggregate demand and aggregate supply
on the levels of output, employment, and prices. Each student will demonstrate this understanding by
his/her ability to:
a. determine the macroeconomic equilibrium at various levels of aggregate demand
b. describe the individual components of aggregate demand and aggregate supply
6. The student will acquire understanding of the different types of fiscal and monetary policy tools used in
the United States. Each student will demonstrate this understanding by his/her ability to:
a. determine the difference between monetary and fiscal policy
b. describe the types of monetary and fiscal policy tools
7. The student will gain an understanding of the accomplishments and limitations of monetary and fiscal
policies. Each student will demonstrate this understanding by his/her ability to determine what changes
will occur in output, employment, incomes, and prices when certain and fiscal policy tools are
implemented.
8. The student will develop skills needed to apply basic macroeconomic principles as evidenced by
his/her ability to predict the theoretical outcome of changes in various market situations.
9. The student will demonstrate knowledge of personal financial planning by
a) identifying short-term and long-term personal financial goals;
b) identifying anticipated and unanticipated income and expenses;
c) examining components and purposes of a personal net worth statement;
d) developing a personal budget;
e) investigating the effects of government actions and economic conditions on personal financial
planning; and
f) explaining how economics influences a personal financial plan.
SYLLABUS ADDENDUM
Go to following URL for the latest updated Syllabus Addendum:
http://www.spcollege.edu/addendum/