Austin Community College

Department of Economics

Course Number: ECON 2301

Principles of Macroeconomics

Name: Shirin Murrassa-I-Khuda

Course Name: Principles of Macroeconomics

Section Number: 020

Synonym: 10356

Class Hours: MTWTh 10:00 - 11:55 pm

Class Room: 2231, Campus: CYP, Building: 2000, ACC Campus.

Office Hours: TTh 12:00 pm – 12:30pm, Room 1104, Building: 1000, Adjunct faculty office.

Office Phone: 223-1790 Ext 26443. Please call 223-8132, leave a message with Rachel and she will contact me if you need to leave me an urgent message.

Email:  smurrass@austincc.edu. Email is the best way to reach me.

Website: http://www.austincc.edu/smurrass/

Blackboard: Go to http://www.austincc.edu/ and click on blackboard option on the left of the screen to login to blackboard.  Username is first letter of your first name and your ACCeID after that.  Password and ACC email is listed in the registration documents for this class. Check http://www.austincc.edu/acceid/faq.php for ACCeID and Password related questions.  If you need additional help with login to Blackboard call help desk at 223-4357 during regular office hours.  At any point in time, if you have problem in accessing blackboard contact help desk and get it fixed.  If it does not get fixed, please bring it to my attention in class or email me about the issue.  

Course Description: Principles of Macroeconomics deals with consumers as a whole, producers as a whole, the effects of Fiscal Policy (government spending and taxation policies) and the effects of the Monetary Policy carried out by the Federal Reserve Bank.  Macroeconomics is concerned with unemployment, inflation and the business cycle.

This course will teach you macroeconomics, problems in an economy and tools to manipulate the economy. This class will help you to develop and improve your analytical, problem solving skills and team work.

Textbook: Required: Macroeconomics, by Roger A. Arnold, 9th Edition (South-Western College Publishing, 2008).  ISBN 032478550X, Study Guide (Optional) 0324785534

Course Rationale: This course is meant to give students insights into the dynamics of our national economy.  The knowledge gained in the course will make students better informed citizen 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 administration, economics, government and social work courses.

Common Course Objectives/Student Outcomes as established by the economics department.

Students who complete this course will be able to understand:

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

-the meaning and components of the Nation Income Accounts, especially GDP;

-the meaning of Business Cycle and its phases;

-and to manipulate the basic Aggregate Supply, Aggregate Demand model of the macro economy;

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

-how a fractional reserve banking systems works;

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

Instructional Methodology: The instructional methodology involves lectures and discussions.  I will use Power Point slides, white board, Blackboard academic software and internet sites, videos and tutorials for instructions.   

Recommendation to students: Please read the assigned chapter before each class.  Reading ahead will help greatly in understanding, grasping well the concepts, issues as well as solving problems both in and out of the class room for the course. Class participation is highly encouraged. If you have questions outside of class and office hours, please email me with your problem.  I will schedule a time to meet with you at Adjunct Faculty Offices, Room 1104, Bldg: 1000, CYP campus of Austin Community College.

Student Requirements: Calculator, Textbook, Pen, Pencil, Eraser for In Class assignments, and Exams. Students are required to submit homework in a separate handwritten/typed sheet.  Homework should be submitted on the dates assigned in the class schedule.  You are responsible to collect your homework assignments from blackboard.  If you cannot access it please email me at:smurrass@austincc.edu.  Don’t miss submitting homework(s), in class(es), exam(s), as there is NO MAKEUP.  You are responsible for turning your In class, Homework, and Exam to me.  You will sign in a “sign in sheet” for each in my class list when you turn in these things to me in class.

Course Evaluation/Grading System: There will be 3 Exams, 3 Homeworks, 3 In Class works. There will be no makeup homework, in class work, or exams. Only under special circumstances makeup exams can be taken later or earlier than the specified day. To take makeup exams special arrangements have to be made with me depending on the time of the issue's occurrence.  If you are sick and cannot take the exam on the day of the exam, you would need a “doctor’s note” as documentation.  I will arrange for a makeup test for you at a later date that works for you (late exam have to be taken within next two class days of the previous exam with the exception of the final exam.  Final exams can only be taken earlier. No late finals accepted).  However, the questions on the exam might be different than one taken on the exam day by other students. If you want to take the exam earlier then contact me and tell me the reason and document it and I will arrange an earlier exam for you.  For early exams, please let me know at least two weeks before you plan to take the exam so I can prepare a special exam for you.

Homework and exam will have extra credit point section at the end. Students who have full attendance in my roster will earn 5 extra credit points automatically at the end of the semester.

Grading Points Distribution Table

Grade on	Numbers	Points Each	Total Possible Points	Average	Grade Percentage
Exams	3	100	300	300/3 = 100	75%
Homework	3	25	75	75/3=25	10%
In Class work	3	10	30	30/3=10	15%

Exams will be mixture of multiple choice, True/False and Fill in the Gaps, Questions with short answers, graphs, and math problems. Exam closed book and notes.  Exams will be based on lectures, slides, textbook, and in class works, homeworks, and other handouts given in the class.

Homework will be assigned from the textbook’s “Questions and Problems” and “Working with numbers and graphs” section or on concepts from the textbook.  I will provide the homeworks at blackboard.  If you have problems accessing it please email me at: smurrass@austincc.edu.

In class work will be done in groups of two students in the class unannounced. Each group will turn in one in class group work with the group members name listed at the top.  Absent students will miss in class work. In class work requires both the group members active participation in solving the problems and completing work. (If one member leaves class earlier leaving incomplete in class work with partner completing the rest on his/her own and turns it in for grading, then the team member that left earlier will be graded on the basis of his/her incomplete work and the other team member who completes it will receive the credit for the completed work. I will mark the questions as completed when the student leaves early without completing the full in class work problems. There will be variation in grading for team mates, if and when such cases arise.) There will be three in class work during the semester.

Extra Credit Points Distribution Table

Grade on	Points	Points	Points	Points	Points	Points	Grade Percentage
Attendance	5 for full attendance	4 for one missed class	3 for two classes missed	2 for three classes missed	1 for fourth missed class	0 for fifth missed class	5%

Grading System

A 90 – 100

B 80 – 89

C 70 – 79

D 60 – 69

F Below 60

Course outline/Calendar:   Tentative Class Schedule

Date	Day	Lecture	Chapter Titles
7/8/2010	Th	Syllabus, Course overview and Background evaluation, Chapter1, Chapter 3	What Economics is About, Demand and Supply
7/12/2010	M	Chapter 3, Chapter 6	Supply and Demand Theory, Macroeconomic Measurements Part II: GDP and Real GDP
7/13/2010	T	Chapter 6, Chapter 5	Macroeconomic Measurements Part II: GDP and Real GDP, GDP Macroeconomic Measurements Part I: Prices and Unemployment
7/14/2010	W	Chapter 5, Homework I due	GDP Macroeconomic Measurements Part I: Prices and Unemployment
7/15/2010	Th	Chapter 7, Homework I Solution and In class I solution available at Blackboard	Aggregate Demand and Aggregate Supply
7/19/2010	M	Chapter 7, Exam I review/discussion in class/blackboard, Chap 8	Aggregate Demand and Aggregate Supply
7/20/2010	T	EXAM I	Exam on chap 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, Lecture on the Self-regulating Economy
7/21/2010	W	Chapter 8	The Self-regulating Economy
7/22/2010	Th	Chapter 8, Chapter 9	The Self-regulating Economy, Economic Instability: A Critique of Self Regulating Economy
7/26/2010	M	Chapter 9, Chapter 10	Economic Instability: A Critique of Self Regulating Economy, The Federal Budget and Fiscal Policy
7/27/2010	T	Chapter 10, Homework II due, chapter 11	The Federal Budget and Fiscal Policy
7/28/2010	W	Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Homework II Solution and In class II solution available at Blackboard, Exam II review/discussion in class/blackboard	Money and Banking, The Federal Reserve System
7/29/2010	Th	Exam II	The Federal Reserve System
8/2/2010	M	Chapter 13	Chapter 8, 9, 10, 11,12, Money and the Economy
8/3/2010	T	Chapter 13, Chapter 14	Money and the Economy, Monetary Policy
8/4/2010	W	Chapter 14, Chapter 15	Monetary Policy, Expectation theory and Economy
8/5/2010	Th	Chapter 15	Expectation theory and Economy
8/9/2010	M	Chapter 16, Homework III due	Economic Growth
8/10/2010	T	Chapter 17, Homework III Solution and In class III solution available at Blackboard	International Trade
8/11/2010	W	Chapter 19, Exam III review and discussion in class/on blackboard	Globalization and International Impacts on the Economy
8/12/2010	Th	Exam III	Chapter 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19

Exam Schedule

EXAM I:  JUL 20

EXAM  II:   JUL 29

EXAM III:AUG 12

Homework Schedule:

Homework I: JUL 14

Homework II: JUL 27

Homework III: AUG 9

Course Policies—

Class Policy

No electronic device allowed in class. No texting, ipod or playing video games or any other kind of games or watching movies or internet browsing during normal class hour. Please turn your cell phones on vibration mode and if you need to take the call, please go outside and take the call.  If you are late, try not to disturb the class when you enter. You will need a calculator to solve class problems; I do not allow cell phone calculators in the exams. When signing in attendance sheet, only sign for yourself. Any violation to this rule will be considered as misdemeanor act.

Teaching Assistance

If you are having problems with the class, please see me at my designated office hours or email me your concerns. Please get in touch with me before it gets too late in the semester. I highly recommend that you stay focused on the course and seek help to get you through the semester rather than getting a “D”, “F” or have to withdraw in the semester. However, if you are having problems with other things beyond my control, you need to withdraw from the course rather than get an undesired grade at the end of the semester.  Withdrawal date is August 9, 2010.

Academic Freedom

Everyone is encouraged to participate in class discussions.  Differing viewpoints breathe enrichment of knowledge and generate new learning experience and may result in new theories for the future.  Please participate in discussions and make the class lively with your thoughts and ideas.

Attendance

100% class attendance in my roster will earn you 5 extra credit points to push up your grade.  If you miss one class you will get 4 points, two classes you will get 3 points and three classes you will get 2 points and 4 classes you will get 1 point and 5 classes you will get 0 points as extra credit points.  I will do the attendance during the first 15 minutes of the class. If you leave early you will be counted as absent from the class. Students leaving early have to cross out their own name from the attendance sheet, write the time and reason for leaving early in the attendance sheet before leaving the class and provide valid documentation if they want to have class attendance point back.

Incomplete

I will not give you an incomplete grade.  So if you are having problems please withdraw before the withdrawal date yourself.  Withdrawal date is August 9, 2010.

If any major incidence happens after the withdrawal date and you cannot continue with the class, please document the incidence and show me.  To get an incomplete, you have to fill out an incomplete form and give it to me.  Without filling the form an incomplete grades will not be given.

Please read the following note about withdrawals.

Withdrawals

Students are responsible for withdrawing themselves from this course.  I will assign you the grade you make in the class including the extra credits, even if it is a "F" grade. Withdrawal Policy of Fall 2007 states that entering freshman is 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 is August 9, 2010.

Students who have missed 4 consecutive classes without a doctors note or a valid documented reason will be dropped from the course. If you think, you have attendance problem, please talk to me before getting dropped. Students with insufficient attendance missing 7 classes or more/submitted no in class work and/or submitted no homework and/or missed one or more exams will be dropped from the course.

Scholastic Dishonesty

 Acts prohibited by the college for which discipline may be administered include scholastic dishonesty, including but not limited to cheating on exam or quiz, plagiarizing, unauthorized collaboration with another in preparing outside work.  Academic work submitted by students shall be the result of their 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.

Students with disabilities

Each ACC campus offers support services for students with documented physical or psychological disabilities.  Students with disabilities 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 Handouts

I will provide you all with copies of chapter lectures at the beginning of each chapter lectures.  In Class work and Exams will be distributed in class. Homework problems, Homework Solution and In class work Solution will be available at Blackboard. I will announce the posting days in class, generally it is one or two days after it is done in class. If you cannot access it then email me.

Grades

Your class grades for homework, in class, and exams will be available at blackboard after completion of each exam. I will assign you a letter grade for the class at the end of the semester. Your grades will be posted in blackboard after completion of the classes. If you need to check your grades earlier, please check with me in class or send me an email.