General Information
TEXTS
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- Microeconomics by
McConnell, Brue, and Flynn (18th
edition).
- Study Guide to Accompany
Microeconomics by McConnell, Brue,
Flynn, and Walstad.
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This course will cover the area of economics commonly
defined as microeconomics which is concerned with
the individual parts of the economy such as individual
businesses or industries, individual consumers, and
individual products. Our goal is to study whether the
economy uses our limited resources to obtain the maximum
satisfaction possible for society. We will concentrate on
three issues or goals: ALLOCATIVE EFFICIENCY, PRODUCTIVE
EFFICIENCY, and EQUITY (efficiency, efficiency, and
equity).
BLACKBOARD
All students must log-in to our Blackboard
website, study the syllabus, and take the required
5-point, online, "Syllabus Quiz" before Tuesday, 1/26.
The quiz can be taken more than once and only the highest
score will count.
- Go to http://harper.blackboard.com
- Follow the instructions to "log-in",
- If you need help see the following on the
Blackboard opening page:
- "Getting Started with Blackboard"
- "Student Blackboard Technical Support"
- You should see our "ECO 211-005 MICROECONOMICS
(Healy Spring 2010)" course listed under the "My
Blackboard" tab
- If you do not see our class contact "Student
BlackBoard Techical Support" or e-mail the
instructor: mhealy@harpercollege.edu
E-MAIL
Option to Forward Mail from your Harper Email
Account
If you are not planning on using your Harper email
account, please view the instructions on how to forward
mail from that account to one you check frequently. Visit
http://harper.blackboard.com
and check out "How do I forward my Harper email?" in the
"Getting Started with Blackboard" area.
GRADING
The final grade for the class will be awarded
according to the following point system. Changes may be
made to this grading policy. All changes will be
announced in class and posted on the class Blackboard
page.
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ACTIVITY
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INFORMATION
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POINTS
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1 syllabus quiz
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5 points, must be taken online at: http://harper.blackboard.com/
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5 points
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12 Required Activities
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The Required Activities are online
(Blackboard) chapter review quizzes of about 20
questions - usually multiple choice. They are
worth two points per quiz/chapter. They can be
retaken as many times as you wish and only the
highest score will be included in the
gradebook.
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24 points
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5 in-class quizzes
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10 multiple choice questions, 1 point each
each, best 4 of 5 counted
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40 points
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3 unit exams
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40 multiple choice questions each *
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120 points
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Final Exam
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80 multiple choice questions,
COMPREHENSIVE
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80 points
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Papers
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4 at 10 points each
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40 points
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TOTAL: 309 POINTS
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* Each of the three unit exams will also have an extra
credit essay question worth about 3 points
Letter grades will be awarded as follows:
90%=A, 80%=B, 70%=C, 60%=D, below 60%=F
MAKE-UP POLICY
Exams:
Students will be allowed to take an exam at a
time other than the scheduled class period only
IF:
1. the instructor is notified BEFORE the
scheduled exam time AND
2. the student has a very good reason to miss the exam
at the scheduled time.
Quizzes:
Since only four of the five quizzes will be
included in the final point total, there should be
little need to take a quiz at a time other than the
scheduled class time.
Papers
Papers can be rewritten for full credit but
they must be turned in by the due date to earn the
chance to be rewritten. Papers turned in late cannot
be rewritten. Please note that papers are either
graded as an "A" or an "F", so the chance to rewrite
the paper is important. A final due date for all
papers and rewrites will be announced in class. For
more information see papers
BRIEF COURSE OUTLINE
IMPORTANT: For exact reading assignments see:
Assignments
Unit 1: An Introduction To Economics, Efficiency, and
the Market System
- Ch. 1 -- Limits, Alternatives, and Choices and the
5 Es
- Ch. 2 -- The Market System: The Market and the 5
Es
- Ch. 3 -- Individual Markets: Demand and Supply and
the 5 Es
- Ch. 4 and 16 -- Government and Market Failure and
the 5 Es
- Ch. 5 -- The United States in the Global Economy
and the 5 Es
Unit 2: Consumer Decisions and the Costs of
Production
- Ch. 6 -- Extensions of Demand and Supply Analysis
(Elasticity of Supply and Demand: Deciding How
Much)
- Ch. 7 -- Consumer Behavior and Utility
Maximization: Consumer Decisions
- Ch. 8 -- The Costs of Production: Producer
Decisions / Costs
Unit 3: Product Markets: Decision Making and
Efficiency
- Ch. 9 -- Pure Competition
- Ch. 10 and 18 -- Pure Monopoly and Regulation
- Ch. 11 -- Monopolistic Competition and
Oligopoly
Unit 4: Resource Markets: Decision Making, Efficiency,
and Equity
- Ch. 13 -- The Demand for Resources
- Ch. 14 -- Wage Determination
- Ch. 20 -- Income Inequality, Poverty, and
discrimination
NOTE: This outline may be changed! Regular class
attendance is needed since changes will be announced in
class.
ATTENDANCE POLICY
Class attendance is strongly recommended, but
not required. Former students have indicated that the
material covered in class is very helpful at the time of
the examinations.
LIBRARY RESERVE
A textbook and a study guide have been placed on
reserve in the library in case you leave yours at
Grandma's house. They can be checked out from the
circulation desk for two days at a time.
HOW TO PASS ECONOMICS
This is a difficult course! There is an old rule
of thumb concerning studying for college courses: on
average students should study TWO hours for every ONE
hour of class. This is an average, which means some
courses require more study time and some less. You may
find that economics requires MORE.
The following suggestions should help you learn
economics:
- Passive reading of the textbook is not very
helpful . Read with a pen in your hand and a notebook
on which to list, repeat, copy, calculate, etc. ALSO,
pay close attention to the TABLES and GRAPHS. THEY
ARE IMPORTANT.
- Attend class. Your instructor will review the
material from the textbook, add additional material,
and answer questions. Come to class with your
questions and problems. While in class TAKE NOTES and
lots of them! We will go fast. If you want something
repeated, ASK.
- Do problems. The assignment
web page lists the problems from the textbook and
Study Guide that you are responsible for in each unit.
DO THEM ALL. If you can't do these problems you will
do poorly on the quizzes and exams.
When doing the multiple choice questions in the Study
Guide, it is suggested that you do NOT circle the
answers in the book. Rather, write the letter of the
answer that you selected on a separate sheet of paper.
There are two reasons for doing this: (1) it is easier
to grade them since all answers are listed together at
the end of the Study Guide chapters, and (2) by not
writing in the study guide you can go over the
questions again and again without having the correct
(or incorrect) answers already marked.
- See the instructor for assistance. This should be
done EARLY in the semester. The Tutoring Center also
offers help.
- Keep up. It is easy to get behind. To get a good
grade you will have to devote a significant amount of
out of class time to studying economics. If you get
behind there simply will not be enough time.
- Try to APPLY the concepts learned in class to the
"real world" including issues in the news and aspects
of your personal life.
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