Spring 12 Week Session

February 13 - May 13

NOTE: This syllabus may undergo minor changes up to the first day of the semester. The syllabus as it stands on the first day of the semester will be the final arbiter of all questions about the course, its assignments, its due dates, and its grading methodology. Small changes to the syllabus as it now stands might be made before the first of the semester. If you download this syllabus a substantial time before the beginning of the semester, I encourage you to check back to see if there have been any changes, such as deadline changes or grading changes, the first few days of class.

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Messages: Please feel free to leave messages on Mr. Forney's voice mail at 223-6707. He will return the calls as soon as he is in the office again.

E-mail: mforney@austincc.edu

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Blackboard:  

Course Announcements will be posted to Blackboard; midterm exams will be administered through Blackboard; and your course grades can be accessed through Blackboard. In addition to the email address given above and the course listserv, communication will be done through the Discussion Board that is part of the course's Blackboard site.

Blackboard's URL is http://acconline.austincc.edu. This is the URL for ACC's Blackboard site. Do not go to blackboard.com, the company's own site.

DON’T HAVE A USERNAME AND PASSWORD YET?

If you have not created your new ACC Username or Password through ACCeID Manager, then please go to this link: https://acceid.austincc.edu/idm/user/login.jsp.

Do not fill in your Username and Password on this page, since you do not have either yet. DO CLICK on “First-Time Login.”

Your ACCeID will be the first letter of your legal, given, first name and your seven digit ACC ID number. For example, fictional student Adam Smith might have this Username a0067701.

Once you submit this Username, just follow the instructions.

The first day students can access Blackboard is typically the day after regular registration ends.

Helpful Hint: Once you are logged into ACC's Blackboard site, the easiest way to navigate the this course's Blackboard content is by first clicking on the "Courses" tab in the upper left hand corner of the first Blackboard page that comes up. Then click on the name of the course: 212S-48711-ECON-2302-036: Principles of Microeconomics (48711). You are then taken to the course's main Blackboard page. It is much easier to find the "User Tools" button and the "Assignments" button, where the links to the on-line exams can be found, than if you try to navigate from the very first page that comes up when you log onto Blackboard

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Course Description:

The purpose of this course is to familiarize you with the generally accepted principles of microeconomics. Microeconomics deals with the interactions between and among households and business firms; it deals with the process by which we make our living under conditions of free market capitalism. In studying this process, the concepts of supply and demand are introduced. You will learn what these concepts mean, how they operate, how prices are determined, and how scarce resources are allocated.

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Departmental Course Description, Rationale, Common Course Objectives/Student Outcomes, and Departmental Quiz 

1. Course Description- Principles of Microeconomics deals with the interactions between individual households and business firms. The concepts of supply and demand will be studied; students will learn what these concepts mean, how they operate, and how prices are determined. Market structure, market failure and income distribution will also be considered.
   
2. Course Rationale- This course is meant to give students insight into the dynamics of a market based economy and how through its mechanism scarce resources are allocated. The theoretical and actual role of the government in this market system will also be addressed. The knowledge gained in the course will make students better informed citizens and allow them to follow the debates over various economic events and policies reported in the news media. This course is also a foundation course that will prepare students to be successful in upper division finance, marketing, business administration, economics, government, and social work courses.
   
3. Common Course Objectives/Student Outcomes as established by the economics department. 

   Students who complete this course will be able to understand:

   • the basic concepts of scarcity and opportunity cost;
   • the forces of demand and supply and how they interact to determine an equilibrium price;
   • how and why equilibrium prices might change and their impact on resource allocation;
   • the theory of consumer behavior;
   • the theory of the firm;
   • the theoretical market structures of perfect competition and monopoly.

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Instructional Resources:

Required #1:

Economics Today: The MicroView plus MyEconLab plus eBook 1-semester Student Access Kit, 16/E, by Roger LeRoy Miller (Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2012). There are several alternatives/formats available. See additional discussion about how to buy and to use this book below by clicking HERE.

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Learning Objectives:

The examinations in this course are based on learning objectives composed by the instructor that you can find by clicking HERE. Read these objectives carefully before you read the corresponding chapter in the textbook and do the activities, Study Plan, Homework, and Quiz on MyEconLab. The learning objectives are correlated exactly with the questions on the exams and are more detailed than the ones that can be found under "objectives" in the textbook's web site. 

In general, after studying each chapter, you should be able to:

1. List what topics the questions on the exams will cover. (See Learning Objectives)
2. Define all the key terms introduced in the chapter and review the "what you should know" section at the end of the chapter.
3. Answer questions in the Sample Tests in MyEconLab.
4. Successfully complete the Homework Assignment over the chapter in MyEconLab.
5. Take the Quiz over the chapter assigned in MyEonLab by your instructor.

The learning objectives are there to help you focus your mind on the important concepts and theories discussed in the unit. The exams will test your knowledge of and ability to apply these learning objectives. Knowing this will help you efficiently allocate your mental energies.

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Economics Today: The Micro View plus MyEconLab plus eBook 1-semester Student Access Kit, 16/E:

This is a traditional introduction to macroeconomics college textbook. If you buy this text new, an access kit granting students access to the on-line homework site, MyEconLab, and the associated eBook has been added.

Some version of the textbook, new, used, or eBook, is required. So is access to the course's MyEconLab site.

You can buy the eBook and MyEconLab together as a package without the hardcopy of the textbook if you so desire. Instructions on how to do so can be found below.

You can buy used copies of this text also. In fact, I see no reason why you couldn't use the 14th or 15th editions if you can find them. (Hint: Search engines). However, you need to be careful here, because in all probability you will not receive a access kit that has not been used, even if you buy a used 16th edition. So, if you do buy used, you will most likely still need to buy access to MyEconLab. Instructions on how to do this can also be found below. In addition, you will need to check your table of contents and chapter titles against those found in the 16th edition; check course's ACC Blackboard site for this. 

WHERE TO PURCHASE:

1. ACC Bookstores have the following textbook for sale:  Economics Today: The Micro View plus MyEconLab plus eBook 1-semester Student Access Kit, 16/E, by Roger LeRoy Miller (Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2012), ISBN-13: 9780132744676. This package will contain a hard copy of the text and an Access Code for MyEconLab and the eBook.
   
   I estimate the selling price will be $200 with an access kit for MyEconLab and the eBook.
   
   If the ACC bookstore at the campus nearest you does not carry this text, it can have it sent over from the main ACC bookstore. The main ACC Bookstore is located at 812 W. 12th Street. This is near the Rio Grande Campus. Its telephone number is (512) 480-0815. You can order the text on-line through the ACC Bookstore by visiting http://austincc.bkstore.com.
   
   This textbook can be purchased on-line also. For example, on August 8, when I wrote this, Amazon had 10 new copies for sale for $143.03 and 4 used copies for $143.23. (Please make sure you buy a copy with a MyEconLab Student Access Kit; if the copy you buy does not have an access code for MyEconLab, you will have to be purchased separately for $50.) If you do buy your copy on-line, be sure to do so at least two weeks in advance of the start of the semester. Students in previous semesters have told me that their on-line orders are very slow to arrive.
   
   
2. If you wouldn't mind using just the eBook (no hard copy), you can buy access to the eBook when you sign up on-line for MyEconLab.  The eBook plus MyEconLab costs $100. The eBook will contain exactly the same material as the hardcopy of the textbook available in the bookstore. You can also purchase MyEconLab with a direct from the publisher loose leaf, 3-hole punched hard copy for $105, or you can purchase access to MyEconLab as a stand alone product for $50. (Here is a link summarizing your choices: http://www.austincc.edu/sondg/texts/miller16splitswithMEL.doc.)
   
   Here are the directions for doing this if it interest you:
   
   
   1. Go to http://www.myeconlab.com/. 
      
   2. Click the "Students" button under "Register."
      
   3. Enter this Course ID #: XL0V-31OG-701Z-2B22. (Note: "0" is zero, and "O" is the upper case letter O, and "1" is the number 1 while "I" is the upper case letter I.)
   4. On the next page, you will see a picture of the cover of the textbook used in this course.
      You will be given a choice of accessing your MyEconLab course using an access code or you can buy access online.
      If you purchased a new textbook in the ACC Bookstore, it should have come with a 16 figure Access Code.
      You should have that ready to type in if you have already purchased the textbook.
   5. If you have not yet purchased a textbook and don't plan to, then choose the "Buy Now" option.
   6. Once you make the "Buy Now" option, two more choices will appear on the screen.
      You can either choose to buy access to MyEconLab without the eText for $50.
      Or you can buy access to MyEconLab with the eText for $100.
      
      
   7. Which ever choice you make, after you are fully registered into your MyEconLab course, you can purchase a discounted loose-leaf, full color version of your text.
      The option to do so is located in the “Student Center,” available from inside your MyEconLab course.
   8. After you have made your choice, you will be taken to a page where you will be able to accept or decline the license agreement and privacy policy.
      Please accept.
      
   9. Once you have accepted the license agreement, you will be asked if you already have a Pearson account. For those of you who do have such an account because you used MyEconLab, MyAccountinLab, or MyMathlab before, then you will nee to remember your login name and password.
      
      If you check "NO," then you will be asked to create a Login Name and Password.
      
   10. Once you have your Login Name and Password set up, you will be taken to a page where you will be asked
       1. your name so that I will know that you have registered,
       2. your email address,
       3. country the school is in and its zip code (please use 78701) and the school (Austin C C - Rio Grande),
       4. and a security question.
   11. On the next page, you will be asked to enter your credit card informaion.
       
       
3. Here is a link to MyEconLab's explanation of how to register for the course: How to Register and Enroll in Your MyEconLab Course.

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MyEconLab--Student Features:

(The following information about MyEconLab was taken from the publisher's web site at http://www.myeconlab.com/tours-training/prod-tour/index.html. It is worth a visit since additional information is present on that page. You may also take the regular tour now available on the MyEconLab home page: http://myeconlab.mathxl.com/login_econ.htm.)

1. Spend as much time studying for this non-traditional course as you would have spent if you had registered for this course in its traditional lecture format - going to lectures and doing homework. This translates into about 12 hours a week for this 16 week course.
2. Not procrastinate, and you should not cram for exams. Set up a regular study schedule for this course and stick to it!
3. Read the learning objectives supplied by the instructor. The learning objectives listed in the textbook at the beginning of each online chapter are more general than those composed by the instructor. The instructor's learning objectives will be correlated to the examination questions.
4. Study the assigned textbook material. This includes the "Issues and Applications" sections found at the end of most chapters.
5. Complete the Study Plan and relevant Sample Test over the chapter you are studying. Re-study the material you were weak on.
6. Go to the Study Plan again and take the second Sample Test for the chapter. Once again re-study the material you are still weak on.
7. Do all of the Homework for the chapter you are studying. This Homework is graded but can be taken over and over again until you get it right.
8. Take the relevant Quiz for that chapter after you feel comfortable with the material the chapter covers.
9. Take the four midterm exams and the final by their assigned deadline dates.

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Reading

Reading the textbook thoroughly is the key to doing well in this Distance Learning course. Distance Learning courses have no lectures to help you understand the material being covered. You must rely almost completely on the textbook to help you understand the material. This is why reading, and re-reading the text is so essential.

I recommend that you take these steps in reading each chapter.

Step One: Skim the chapter. Spend three to five seconds looking over each page of the chapter.

Step Two: Quickly read over the chapter again reading only the title of the chapter, the learning objectives, all the headings and sub-headings in the chapter, all the words in bold print, and all the words in the left column of each page in the chapter.

Step Three: Read the introduction of the chapter, the first paragraph of each section or subsection in the chapter and the first sentence of all of the other paragraphs in the section or subsection. Finally read the summary of the chapter.

Step Four: Without referring back to the chapter make a list of all the important concepts, terms, ideas, theories, and laws that you can remember.

Step Five:  Read the introduction, the learning objectives, and the summary of the chapter in the "end-of-chapter" section of the textbook.

Step Six: Revise and improve your list and then use it to make the outline/map of the chapter.

Step Seven: Answer the "Study Plan" questions related to the chapter in MyEconLab so that you will know which parts of the chapter you have a weak understanding of.

Step Eight: Read the chapter in the text completely and thoroughly, especially those sections that the MyEconLab diagnosis states you have a weak understanding of.

Step Nine: Revise and improve your outline/map once again. This time add the key terms to the appropriate places in your outline/map if they had not been included before this time.

Step Ten: Answer the guided (and graded) Homework Assignments for the chapter in MyEconLab.

Step Eleven: Revise your outline/map one more time.

Step Twelve: Read over the chapter again.

Step Thirteen: Take the graded quiz for the chapter that the instructor has assigned in MyEconLab.

Step Fourteen: Review your outline/map every four or five days until the exam and then use it to prepare for the exam.

If you read your textbook in this structured and disciplined way, you will learn much more than if you approach your reading task in an unorganized manner, and you will do much better on the exams than you would otherwise do.

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Test over UNIT IV due by May 6 for extra credit points.
Learning Objectives for Exam 4

 FINAL EXAM due by May 11.

Important Note: If you take these tests on time you will receive extra credit points that will improve your grade. See "Extra Credit Points" under "Grading" for details. The total value of these extra credit points is equal to 3.75% of the course grade. You can earn additional extra credit points by doing more than the required Homework & Quizzes on MyEconLab. Details about all extra credit points available can be found under "Extra Credit Points."

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 Testing:

All exams, including the final exam, will be objective, multiple-choice question exams.

Exams are based on the learning objectives students are expected to master. For more information on learning objectives, please see the section on "Learning Objectives" in this syllabus. Furthermore the exam questions will be drawn exclusively from the textbook, Economics Today: The Micro View.

The exams over each Unit assigned will include ten questions over each chapter assigned for each Unit -- forty questions in all. The questions will appear on the exams in the order in which the chapters were assigned for the Unit. For example, on the first exam the first ten questions will cover Chapter 1, the next ten will cover Chapter 2, the third ten will cover Chapter 3, and the last ten will cover Chapter 4. Indeed the questions will be numbered in exactly the same way as the learning objectives  the questions are associated with are numbered. 

The midterm/unit exams will be administered over the internet through the courses Blackboard site. 

There will be ten learning objectives listed for each chapter. Each learning objective will have 10 or more questions connected to it by the testing program used in this course. That program will randomly choose one question from each group of ten for the exam. For example, if an exam is 40 questions long like the exams for this course, then there will be 10 ways to select the first question, ten ways to select the second question, and so on to the fortieth question. The number of different exams this program can generate for one midterm exam is 10⁴⁰. One billion is 1 followed by 9 zeros (10⁹). 10⁴⁰ is 1 followed by 40 zeros.

The online unit/midterm exams will also be timed. You will have 60 minutes to answer 40 questions.

In addition, the exams will be administered on the Blackboard internet course platform used by ACC, so students will need to sign on to Blackboard in order to take the exams. 

Students will have three tries at each online exam. Students do not have to take it three times though. If a student is satisfied with his score after the first try, he can stop there. If a second or third try is made, the last attempt will completely overwrite (erase) previous efforts.  

So be careful, you can do worse on these re-tests. If you re-test, you will receive the grade you made on your last attempt.

The results of the last re-test will be used in determining your grade. This means there is some risk in re-taking an exam, since you could do worse. This risk is intentional. I put it there hoping that it would give you some incentive to re-study the material if you decide to re-take an exam. Of course, you could do much better on the re-test. If you do I will use that result to calculate your end of the semester grade.

Students will be allowed three attempts on each on-line, mid-term exam--the initial attempt and two re-tests. Blackboard 8 allows these exams to be re-set without the permission of or action by your instructor. If you want to take a re-test, just go to Assignments and the folder that contains the exam you want to re-test. Click on the link for that exam, and a message window will pop up asking you if you really want to re-test. If you indicate that you do want to re-test, then the old grade will be removed and you will be allowed to re-test. You score on the re-test will completely replace your old score on the exam.

YOU SHOULD TAKE THE EXAMS NO LATER THAN THE LISTED DATE.

For all deadlines click here.  

However, all exams will be available on Blackboard until May 10 at midnight.

Contact the instructor if you are unable to take any of the exams by the listed date.

Contact the instructor if you have fallen behind schedule so that you can put together a plan to catch up.

The Final Exam can be taken at the Testing Centers on the Northridge, Rio Grande, Riverside, South Austin, Pinnacle, Eastview, Round Rock, Fredericksburg, San Marcos, or Cypress Creek Campuses. The Final Exam will be graded by the Testing Center personnel while students wait for the results.  

The final exam will be comprehensive. Two or three questions will be drawn from each chapter covered during the semester. The questions will be arranged in the order the chapters were assigned. Questions over Chapter 1 will be the first ones encountered and questions over Chapter 34 will be the last ones encountered. You will find no questions over Chapters 7 through 18, which are covered in the Principles of Macroeconomics course, and Chapters 6, 27, 29, 30, and 31, which are skipped in this course.

1. Study Plan: These are ungraded practice questions. You will be given 3 tries, then the system will tell you the correct answer. When you finish, the system will tell you which sections of the chapter you need to focus your study time on.

   Each question will have a panel of Learning Aids to the left of the window. These Learning Aids include

   1. Help Me Solve This - Guided Solutions take you step by step to the correct answer
   2. eText takes you to the page of the text where the information covered by the question is presented even if you did not purchase access to the eBook.
   3. Graphing - allows you to draw a graph of the question to help find an answer
   4. Ask My Instructor - emails the question to me, so I can help you with it
   
   
   
2. Homework: These are graded question sets, set up like the Study Plan sets. Each chapter will have homework questions that are worth 25 points.
   While Homework will constitute only 333 points, 8.33%, of the course grade, there will actually be 425 Homework points available.
   The additional 92 points are part of the Extra Credit available to students in this course.
   Learning Aids are available on Homework assignments, and students will be able to take these assignments over and over again until they get them right.



3. Quizzes: These are graded assignment sets worth about twice as much as the Homework sets. Each chapter will have quiz questions that are worth around 50 points.
   While Quizzes will constitute 667 points, 16.67%, of the course grade, there will actually be around 800 Quiz points available.
   The additional 133 or so points are part of the Extra Credit available to students in this course.
   No Learning Aids are available on quizzes while you are working on them, but you will be able to review the graded questions after the deadline with the help of the Learning Aids.
   You will only be allowed one try on the quizzes. This means that once you submit an answer you cannot go back to change it. It doesn't mean that you cannot leave and reenter the quiz as often as you like before the deadline passes. You will have 120 minutes in total to complete a quiz.

There are three ways to for students to improve their grades by earning extra credit points. The total number of extra credit points possible is equal to 15.625% of the 4000 points available on exams and required MyEconLab Homework & Quizzes alone.

Extra Credit Type 1: Take the tests on time:

You can earn extra credit points by taking your exams on or before the initial testing deadlines.

You will earn 20 points for each Unit exam taken on or before its deadline. You will not lose these extra credit points if you take the re-test for unit as long as you met the deadline the first time you took the exam.

In addition, students should be aware of a change in the law regarding Withdrawals passed by the Texas Legislature in the spring of 2007. Starting in the Fall of 2007, entering freshman will be restricted to six non-punitive withdrawals for the whole of their undergraduate careers while attending state colleges.

The last day to withdraw from this course without penalty is Monday, April 23.