ECON 2301

PRINCIPLES OF MACROECONOMICS

SECTION 40197

AUSTIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE

FALL 2009

                         DRIPPING SPRINGS HS  P100

                             MW 7:35-8:50 AM

INSTRUCTOR:

      Professor James Hill

      Phone: 512-396-9244 (home)

      E-Mail: jthill1@yahoo.com    (note the 1 after jthill)

      ACC Web site: www.austincc.edu/jhill           

      Office hours: MW immediately after class         

      Conferences: By appointment                  

                 

TEXT:    

      Mankiw, PRINCIPLES of MACROECONOMICS, 5th Edition, 2009

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

 

      Principles of Macroeconomics deals with consumers and producers as a whole, the effects of government spending and taxation policies, and the effects of the Federal Reserve Bank’s monetary policy. Macroeconomics is concerned with unemployment, inflation, and the business cycle.

 

COURSE RATIONALE:

 

       This course is meant to give students insight into the dynamics of our national economy. The knowledge gained will make students better informed citizens and allow them to follow the debates over national economic policy 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, economics, government, and social work courses.

 

Course Objectives / Student Outcomes

 

        Students who complete this course will be able to understand:

 

-the meaning of unemployment and inflation data and how that data is                                                                                                                                        collected and computed;

-the meaning and components of national income accounts, especially GDP;

-the meaning of the business cycle and its stages;

-the basic aggregate demand / supply model of the macro economy;

-how fiscal policy operates, its tools, and its advantages and drawbacks;

-how a fractional reserve banking system works;

-how monetary policy operates, its tools, and its advantages and drawbacks

INSTRUCTIONAL METHODOLOGY:

 

  Lecture and class participation with discussion of text material, text

  end-of-chapter questions, instructor’s handouts, and current events. It

  is essential that the student read the assigned reading material PRIOR               

  to attending class in order to be academically prepared for the quizzes,

  lectures, and the class discussions.

 

GRADE DETERMINATION (as a per cent of a total of 460 points):

 

      90-100 = A    80-89  = B    70-79  = C    60-69  = D   < 60 = F

 

Final grade will be determined as follows, based on a total possible 600 points:

    

1.  6 multiple-choice exams, each worth 100 points for a total of 600 pts.

    

 

A max of 25 extra credit points will be given based on extra credit work.

                                          

All exams will be multiple choice with a max of 4 possible answers. A student can take a makeup exam if (s)he earns less than a 50% on the regular scheduled exam. After successfully passing the make-up exam the final recorded grade for that exam will not exceed 60%. Students who miss scheduled exams will NOT be given make-up exams unless PRIOR arrangements are made or the instructor is informed of the missed exam IMMEDIATELY.

(The defining of IMMEDIATELY will be determined by the professor.)

Make-up exams will be taken at the ACC PIN campus in the testing center. It is the student’s responsibility to make the arrangements for testing at the PIN testing center after receiving instruction from the professor.

 

All grades will be posted on ACC Blackboard which every student has access to. The professor will not carry grades to class except for the class immediately following an exam. It is the student’s responsibility to know what his or her grade is at all times. A green, 100 answer scantron is required for the exams.

 

To be successful in this class the student needs to spend at least as much time outside the classroom studying this material as in the classroom. A text book is also required.

Attendance and late attendance will be recorded. More than 2 unexcused absences and excessive late attendance will result in being given extra work assignments.

There will be no sleeping, passing notes, or other disruptive behavior during class. A student will be warned once, and then subject to drop.

The appropriate HS personnel will be notified before a student is dropped from the class.   

COURSE/CLASS POLICIES:

 

All ACC guidelines and policies as outlined in the student handbook and the college catalog will be followed (scholastic dishonesty, withdrawals, incomplete grades, etc.) Concerning freedom of expression, each student is strongly encouraged to participate in class. In any classroom situation that includes discussion and critical thinking, there are bound to be many differing viewpoints. These differences enhance the learning experience and create an atmosphere where students and professors alike will be encouraged to think and learn.  On sensitive and volatile topics, students may sometimes disagree not only with each other but also with the professor.  Regardless, all views and comments will be respected when expressed in classroom discussions. 

Attendance will be taken. Students are expected to attend class and participate. Disruptive behavior will not be tolerated and the student will be removed from the class and subject to being dropped.

No electronic devices will be used in class, except for calculators. Cell phones will not be used as calculators.

 

 

Scholastic Dishonesty:

 

Acts prohibited by the College for which discipline may be administered include scholastic dishonesty, to include but not limited to cheating on an exam or quiz, plagiarizing, and unauthorized collaboration with another in preparing outside work.  Academic work submitted by students shall be the result of their own thought, research or self-expression.  Academic work is defined as, but not limited to tests, quizzes, whether taken electronically or on paper; projects, either individual or group; classroom presentations, and homework.  If a student participates in scholastic dishonesty, the student will be dropped and a grade of F will be recorded.

 

 

Students with disabilities:

 

Each ACC campus offers support services for students with documented physical or psychological special needs.  Such students must request reasonable accommodations through the Office for Students with Disabilities on the campus where they expect to take the majority of their classes.  Students are encouraged to do this three weeks before the start of the semester.

 

 

 

 

 

CLASS SCHEDULE:  (NOTE: THIS CLASS SCHEDULE IS A GUIDELINE. IT WILL BE                                                                                                   

                        ONLY CHANGED AS NEEDED AS THE SEMESTER PROGRESSES.

                   

 

                          

Date              Chapter / Exams                

 

 

 

Aug  26            Intro / 1                                                 

     31             1 / 2

 

Sep   2             2 / 3

      9            Exam 1 (Ch’s 1-3)                             

     14            4

     16            4                          

     21            Exam 2 (Ch 4)                             

     23            10                                              

     28            10 / 11

     30             11

 

Oct   5            Exam 3 (Ch’s 10 & 11)                                                  

      7            12

     12            13

     14             13 & 15

     19             15                

     21             Exam 4 (Ch’s 12, 13, 15)

     26            16

     28            16

                      

Nov  2             16

      4             17

      9             17

     11             17

     16             17

     18             Exam 5 (Ch’s 16& 17)

     23             20

     25             20

     30             20 / 21

 

Dec   2             21

      7             21

      9             Exam 6 (Ch’s 20 & 21)