Principles of Macroeconomics
ECON 2301 PCM--Distant Learning Syllabus
Internet Based
2nd 5 week session
July 6 - August 8
SUMMER 2021
DIL-OPC-Internet based asynchronous Distance Learning Section
synonym 24188, section 036
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.
|
Instructor:
|
JAMES SONDGEROTH
|
| Office Hours: |
How: |
July
6 - August 8 |
| |
Internet Meeting by appointment |
See instructions in link to Blackboard Collaborate in Table of Contents above |
| |
asynchronous: |
Email at any time, I will respond within 24 hours. |
| |
by phone: |
Call my office number M, T, W, or Th, leave a message, and I will return your call within 24 hours. |
Messages:
Please feel free to leave messages on Mr. Sondgeroth's voice mail at 512-223-3390.
He will return the calls within 24 hours on M,T,W, and Th.
E-mail: jason@austincc.edu,
Subject line must contain ECON 2301.24188.036.
Blackboard Collaborate-Virtual
Office Hours:
Blackboard is the Learning Management System (LMS) ACC uses for all its courses.
You will learn more about Blackboard below.
Blackboard Collaborate is a tool within Blackboard that will be used to hold
virtual office hours now that face-to-face meetings in instructors' offices
has been forbidden because of the Coronavirus pandemic. It is similar to Google
Hangouts and Zoom. You will find a link to Blackboard Collaborate in the left
navigation bar of Blackboard along with instructions on how to use it.
Virtual meetings with the instructor will be by appointment only. These appointments
will be arranged and agreed to via email requests to the instructors email account:
jason@austincc.edu--please include ECON 2301.24188.036 in the subject line.
Instructional Methodology:
This course is a competency based distance learning course. More can be found
about what it means to be "competency based" below under the heading
Grading and The Competency Based Education Model. Here
I want to focus more on the "distant learning" nature of the course.
A distant learning course is similar but not identical to a self-paced course.
It is similar in the sense that there will not be scheduled lectures in which
an instructor will explain the material you are attempting to learn. Your understanding
of the material will come mostly from reading the assigned readings and doing
the assigned homework and quizzes on your own as would be done in a self-paced
or correspondence course. The instructor will always be there to help explain
difficult concepts and theories, and there are very helpful videos explaining
the material embeded in the course, but this does not make the course equivalent
to a regularly scheduled lecture course which offers easy accessibility to the
instructor and fellow students.
A distant learning course is different from a self-paced course in that it
must be completed in a given time period. In this course's case, it must be
completed during this semester. Becuase of this, there are deadlines for the
homework assignments, quizzes, and exams. These are set to help ensure that
students can complete the work in the time designated. However, it is like a
self-paced course in that students can accelerate their pace and complete the
course well before the end of the semester if they wish to do so. Students just
cannot stretch the course out to last longer than a regular college semester.
In addition to not being able to listen to an instructor's explanation of the
material and the lack of easy access to fellow students, time management problems
can also make a distant learning course more difficult to complete than a traditional
college lecture course. Not having to attend a regularly scheduled lecture can
lead to procrastination problems. Setting a firm schedule for reading and studying
is a must in distant learning courses. For more on how to study for this course,
see the sections entitled Recommended Study Method and
Reading found below in this syllabus.
For all the difficulties noted above, there are compensating benefits to taking
a distant learning course. The most important one for most students is the flexibilty
it gives them in putting together a course schedule when they are faced with
other obligations such as family and work but also with putting together a full
load if they are a full time college student.. As such, distant learning courses
can shorten the time it takes to complete a course of study and to get a degree.
It can also save on transportaion expenses, and it can spare students from having
to listen to the unrelated personal stories and political opinions of the professor.
If you are uncertain if a distant learning course is for you, the College provides
a couple of on-line quizzes that might help you decide if it is. You can take
the Learning
Style Survey and review the Technical
Skills Checklist to find out if you’re ready for learning online.
The College also provides a very helpful FAQ page that answers many questions
about distant learning courses at https://online.austincc.edu/faq/.
Among the questions answered that are relevant to this course are:
- Are distance education courses easier than face-to-face courses?
- What should I expect in a distance education course?
- Will a distance education course require as much reading as a face-to-face
course?
- What technical computer skills do I need to have?
- Will I have to come to campus for a distance education course?
- How much time should I schedule each day/week to complete a distance education
course?
TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT SERVICES:
In response to COVID-19-related campus closures, Austin Community College
now provides free, secure drive-up WiFi to students and employees in the parking
lots of all campus locations. WiFi can be accessed seven days a week, 7 am
to 11 pm. Additional details are available at https://www.austincc.edu/coronavirus/drive-up-wifi.
Students who submit the Student Technology Access Form and indicate they need
help accessing their online learning environment to successfully complete
their courses are eligible to check out an ACC iPad for use during the semester.
You must be registered for a credit course, Adult Education, or Continuing
Education course.
Top of Syllabus
Course Description:
The purpose of this course is to familiarize the
student with the generally accepted principles of macroeconomics. Though ultimately
based on the actions of individual households and business firms, macroeconomics
deals with aggregates--i.e., consumers as a whole, producers as a whole, exporters
and importers as a whole, the effects of government spending and taxation, and
the monetary policy of the central bank. Macroeconomics is concerned with such
things as unemployment, inflation, and the business cycle.
Credit Hours: 3
Classroom Contact Hours per week: Two hours 40 minutes (if this were a lecture
course. It is not; it is a Distance Learning course, so it has no scheduled classroom
contact hours.)
Student Learning Outcomes:
1. Common Course Objectives/Student
Outcomes.
Students who complete this course will be able to:
- critically evaluate GDP, unemployment, and inflation data;
- explain the business cycle and its phases;
- manipulate the basic Aggregate Supply, Aggregate Demand model of the macro
economy;
- and to manipulate the basic Aggregate Supply, Aggregate Demand model of
the macro economy;
- explain fiscal policy tools and defend and criticize the usage fiscal
policy;
- describe how a fractional reserve banking system works;
- explain monetary policy tools and defend and criticize the usage monetary
policy.
2. Discipline Program
Student Learning Outcomes.
- PSLO 1: Socially Optimal Market Outcomes- Model and explain under what
circumstances markets are capable of creating socially optimal outcomes.
- PSLO 2: Socially Suboptimal Market Outcomes- Model and explain under what
circumstances markets are capable of creating outcomes that are not socially
optimal.
- PSLO 3: Economic Policy -Defend and criticize the role of economic policy
in a mixed market economy.
- PSLO 4: Economic Data -Critically evaluate economic data.
3. General Education
Competencies.
- Civic and Cultural Awareness - Analyzing and critiquing competing perspectives
in a democratic society; comparing, contrasting, and interpreting differences
and commonalities among peoples, ideas, aesthetic traditions, and cultural
practices.
- Critical Thinking - Gathering, analyzing, synthesizing, evaluating and
applying information.
- Quantitative and Empirical Reasoning - Applying mathematical, logical
and scientific principles and methods.
- Written, Oral and Visual Communication - Communicating effectively, adapting
to purpose, structure, audience, and medium.
Learning Objectives for
Course as Specified by the Instructor:
The UNIT EXAMS in this course are based on learning
objectives composed by the instructor that you can find by clicking HERE.
The learning objectives for each chapter assigned and for each UNIT EXAM and
for the Final Exam can be found in UNIT and Final Exam folders on the course's
ACC Blackboard site. Read these objectives carefully before you read the corresponding
chapter in the textbook. The learning objectives are correlated exactly with
the questions on the UNIT EXAMS.
In general, after studying each chapter, you should
be able to:
- Answer questions about the topics from that chapter the learning objectives
cover. (See Learning
Objectives)
- Define all the key terms introduced in the chapter and review the "what
you should know" section at the end of the chapter.
- Answer questions in the Sample Tests in MyEconLab.
- Successfully complete the Homework Assignment over the chapter in MyEconLab.
- Take the Chapter 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.
Mandatory Orientation:
Orientation for this course is done by taking a quiz over the course's syllabus.
The document you are reading right now.
This Orientation Quiz must be taken and submitted before you can take any of
the exams. The quiz consists of 20 questions. Students must make an 80% or better
on it in order to gain access to the UNIT I EXAM. This exam also has a corequistie
of a 65% or better grade on the Chapter 4 MyEconLab Quiz.
The learning objectives for this quiz can be found by clicking on Mandatory
Orientation Quiz on the course's ACC Blackboard site.
Your courses ACC Blackboard site can be found at http://acconline.austincc.edu
Top of Syllabus
Blackboard:
Blackboard is an on-line
classroom management tool. It includes a gradebook, an announcements page, and
a facility for administering on-line tests and quizzes.
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 (subject line--ECON 2301.24188.036),
communication will be done through the Announcements page of Blackboard, and
through Blackboard Collaborate 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 John Keynes might
have this Username j0067701.
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 this course's Blackboard content is accessed by first clicking
on the "Courses" tab in the upper right hand corner of the first Blackboard
page that comes up. Then click on the name of the course:
Course ID: 221U-24188-ECON
2301-036: Principles of Macroeconomics. You are then taken to the course's
main Blackboard page. It is much easier to find the "Start
Here" button, the "Course Content" button, and the "MyEconLab"
button by doing this than if you try to navigate from the very first page that
comes up when you log onto Blackboard
Instructional Resources:
| Required:
|
Economics
Today: The Macro View plus MyEconLab plus eBook 1-semester Student Access
Kit, 20/E, by Roger LeRoy Miller (Pearson, 2020). There
are several alternatives/formats available.
If you have paid your tuition for this course and you have not opted
out of the First Day Access textbook program, then you should already
have access to this eText through the course's Blackboard site. Please
see the discussion in the section immediately below this one.
If you opt-out of the First Day Access program, then you will still need
to purchase access to Pearson's MyEconLab to complete this course. If
you are purchasing the textbook outside of the First Day Access program
be careful. The cover of
Economics Today: The Micro View
is almost identical to the cover of Economics
Today: The Macro View.
Here are your options:
THROUGH
THE BOOKSTORES:
- Access
Code for eText + MyEconLab = $119.99
+ Tax = $129.89 approximately
*A rental
Print Upgrade can be added to the above after registering for Pearson’s
MyEconLab through Blackboard, using the Access Code purchased from the
bookstore, for $24.99. It will be shipped directly to your address at
no additional cost.
DIRECT
ONLINE PURCHASE:
www.pearsonmylab.com
(actual price accessed through Blackboard)
- MyEconLab
with eText (no hard copy of textbook):
$99.99 + Tax = $108.24
*A rental
Print Upgrade can be added to the above after registering for Pearson’s
MyEconLab through Blackboard for $24.99. It will be shipped directly to
your address at no additional cost
|
Economics
Today: The Macro View plus MyEconLab plus eBook 1-semester Student Access Kit,
20/E:
FIRST DAY ACCESS PROGRAM
REQUIRED TEXT:
Economics Today: The Macro View with
MyLab Economics, 20th edition, Miller
A discounted charge of only $105.54 (includes tax) has been added to your tuition
and fee bill for the cost of the course materials used in this course. By participating
in the First Day program, you will gain access to the eText and MyLab Economics
through your instructor's Blackboard site.
How to Sign Up for Pearson's MyEconLab Courseware
- Click on "Course Materials - MyEconLab (MEL)" in the left navigation column
of the course's ACC Blackboard site.
- FirstDay - Digital Bundle will load. It includes access to the VitalSourse
eText, click "Read Now," and the MyEconLab assignments, "Launch Courseware."
- When you click on "Launch Courseware," you will be asked to register for
Pearson MyLab.
- Registering:
- If you have already registered for a Pearson product, MyLab or otherwise,
for another course, then just sign in with your username and password.
- If you have not previously registered for Pearson MyLab, do so now.
Need help? Here is a video provided by ACC's Barnes & Noble Bookstore--First
Day--Blackboard Training Video.
For more help with MyLab & Mastering with Blackboard, go to http://help.pearsoncmg.com/mylabmastering/bbi/student/en/index.html.
For First Day questions, go to https://customercare.bncollege.com/hc/en-us/categories/360000142447-First-Day-Inclusive-Access-FAQs.
If you do not wish to participate in the program you have until JULY
9 to "Opt Out". If you "Opt Out" of receiving and paying for your materials
via this program, you will be responsible for obtaining those on your own. These
are the required materials for the course.
How to Use Pearson's MyEconLab Courseware and eText
- Now that you are registered, you can click on the "Course Materials - MyEconLab
(MEL)" in the left navigation bar of Blackboard to access the course material.
- After the FirstDay - Digital Bundle loads, click on "Launch Courseware"
in the bottom right of the digital bundle pane.
- On the next page, click on the "Open MyLab & Mastering" button at the
top of the page. It is just to the left of the thumbnail image of the textbook
cover.
- This will finally take you to the course's actual Pearson MyEconLab site.
- There are a number of important links on the left navigation bar of this
page that you may find very helpful to your success in this course: <
- Assignments: Access
to the MyEconLab assignments. There are two other access points to these
assignments on the course's Blackboard site, i)"MyLab & Mastering
Assignments" in the left navigation bar of Blackboard, and ii) in the
chapter folders of the "Course Content" link on the left navigation bar
of Blackboard (e.g., Course Content/Unit I/Chapter 1), but this is a nice
alternate access point.
- Pearson eText: This
is a more user-friendly version of the eText than the VitalSource eText
available when you click on "Read Now" at the bottom left of Digital Bundle
referred to in Step #2 above.
- Results: Here you can
review your grades on the Chapter Homework Assignments and Chapter Quizzes.
If you answered a question incorrectly, the correct answer will be given.
If the question is a Problem rather than a Multiple-Choice question, then
often times the solution will be explained by clicking "Question Help"
in the upper right of the panel and then on "Help Me Solve This."
- Study Plan: If you
navigate to the Study Plan questions for a chapter and click on the Text
Problems and then on Question Help/Help Me Solve This, then not only will
explanations of the solution be given but also mathematical formulas,
which are only given in a verbal format in the textbook, will be provided.
Many of my students in the past have told me that this was a lifesaver
for them.
- Past students have also found the Multimedia
Library and Chapter Resources
very helpful.
MyEconLab--Student Features:
Students benefit when they start an exam confident and prepared. MyEconLab
is the only online assessment system that gives students the tools they need
to learn from their mistakes right at the moment they are struggling.
-
Personalized Study Plan
A Study Plan is generated from each student's results on answering Study
Plan questions, by taking the Sample Tests, and by completing the instructor's
assignments. Students can clearly see which topics they have mastered-and,
more importantly, which they need to work on. The Study Plan links to additional
practice problems and tutorial exercises to help on those topics. (When
you click on the "Study Plan" link in the left control column,
it only opens up to a tutorial on how to use MyEconLab. Look for the link
"View all chapters" to find access to all the Study Plan questions.)
-
Unlimited Practice
Many Study Plan and instructor-assigned exercises contain algorithmically
generated values, ensuring students get as much practice as they need. Every
problem links students to learning resources that further reinforce concepts
they need to master. The Study Plan questions can be taken over and over
again; the instructor assigned Homework Assignment can be retaken as many
times as a student wants right up to the deadline for taking it. The Chapter
Quizzes can be taken three times before the deadline. The highest score
is used for grading the Chapter Quizzes.
-
Learning Resources
In the upper-right corner of each practice problem is a link to the eText
section discussing the very concept being applied. Students also have access
to guided solutions ("Help Me Solve This"), animated graphs, audio
narratives, and flashcards on many of the problems. MyEconLab has a suite
of graphing tools for practice and current news articles that tie chapter
topics to everyday issues.
-
Test and Other Assignments
MyEconLab comes with two pre-loaded Sample Tests for each chapter so students
can self-assess their understanding of the material. Instructors can assign
these Sample Tests or create assignments using a mix of publisher-supplied
content and their own custom exercises.
Recommended Study Method:
As a student you should:
- 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. In a 16 week fall or spring semester this works
out to going to lectures for 3 hours per week and studying outside of lecture
reading the material and doing homework for 9 hours a week. This translates
into about 12 hours a week for a 16 week course. This translates into 38 hours
a week in a 5 week summer course which sounds like too much. But I think that
at least 20 hours a week needs to be spent on the course during a 5 week summer
session.
- Not procrastinate, and you should not cram
for the UNIT EXAMS. Set up a regular study schedule for this course and stick
to it!
- Read
the
learning objectives supplied by the instructor.
The detailed learning objectives in each chapter will be correlated directly
on a one-to-one basis with the questions on the UNIT EXAMS.
- Study the assigned textbook material. This
includes the "Issues and Applications" sections found at the end
of most chapters.
- Complete the Study Plan found on the Pearson MyEconLab site and the relevant
Sample Test over the chapter you are studying. Re-study the material you were
weak on. The Study Plan points your weak points out to you.
- 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.
- 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.
- Take the relevant Chapter Quiz for that chapter after
you feel comfortable with the material the chapter covers.
- Take the four UNIT EXAMS and the Final Exam
by their assigned deadline dates. Each UNIT EXAM
covers four chapters.
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 "What You
Should Know" section at the end of the chapter.
Step Six: Revise and improve
your list and then use it to make the outline/map of the chapter.
Step Seven: Read the chapter
in the text completely and thoroughly.
Step Eight: 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 been included before this time.
Step Nine: Complete a
Study Plan for the chapter in MyEconLab.
Step Ten: Revise your outline/map
one more time.
Step Eleven: 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.
CHAPTER
ASSIGNMENTS/TESTING
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Chapter 1: The Nature of Economics
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Chapter 2: Scarcity and the World of Trade-Offs
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Chapter 3: Demand and Supply
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Chapter 4:
Extensions of Demand and Supply Analysis
|
Test over UNIT I due
by July 15 for extra credit points.
Learning Objectives for Exam 1
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Chapter 5: Public Spending and Public Choice |
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Chapter 6: Funding the Public Sector
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Chapter 7: The Macroeconomy: Unemployment, Inflation, and Deflation
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Chapter 8: Measuring the Economy’s Performance
|
Test over UNIT II due by July 22 for extra
credit points.
Learning Objectives for Exam 2
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SPRING BREAK March 15 - 19
|
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Chapter 10: Real GDP and the Price Level in the Long Run |
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Chapter 11: Classical and Keynesian Macro Analyses
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Chapter 12: Consumption, Real GDP, and the Multiplier
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Chapter 13: Fiscal Policy
|
Test over UNIT
III due by July 29 for extra credit points.
Learning Objectives for Exam 3
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Chapter 14: Deficit Spending and the Public Debt
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Chapter 15: Money, Banking, and Central Banking
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Chapter 16: Domestic and International Dimensions of Monetary Policy
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Chapter 17: Stabilization in an Integrated World Economy
(Skip Chapters 18, 32, and 33)
|
Test over
UNIT IV due by August 5 for extra credit points.
Learning Objectives for Exam 4
FINAL EXAM due
by August 8 for extra credit points.
All ACC Testing Centers are closed because of the Coronavirus. If limited in
person testing starts back later this semester, the instructor will announce
it on Blackboard..
Students will be allowed to take the FINAL EXAM at home using free proctoring
software entitled Respondus LockDown Browser and Respondus Monitor.
•All midterm exams will be available on Blackboard
for re-testing purposes through August 8.
•Beware though! Since Exam 4 is a prerequisite for taking the
Final Exam, a student couldn't take the initial attempt on Exam 4 at any
time after 9 p.m. on Sunday, August 8,
and have any hope of taking the Final Exam the same day.
•One re-test is allowed on the final exam, so taking the initial
attempt by August 7 is the safe choice. |
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 10%
of the course grade. You can earn additional extra credit points by doing the
two Extra Credit Assignments. more than the required MyEconLab Homework &
Quizzes. Details about all the extra credit points available can be found under
"Extra Credit Points" below.
Grading and The Competency
Based Education Model:
This
is a Competency Based Education course. That means that the grades assigned
will be based on the mastering the UNITS
(Competencies)
in the course. Once students have shown mastery of one UNIT (or competency),
they may move on to the next UNIT. UNIT Challenge Exams are available in the
Challenge
Exam folder on the course's Blackboard site for
each of the four UNITS (Competencies). They are optional; students can ignore
them and start the MyEconLab assignments in each UNIT if they so desire. One
attempt will be allowed for each UNIT Challenge Exam AND
it must be taken
in a secure setting using Respondus Lock Down Browser and Respondus Monitor
(you will find more details about this in the course's ACC Blackboard site.
From the left navigation column in Blackboard, follow this sequence of links:
Course Content/Challenge Exams/Instructions on how to use Respondus LockDown
Browser and Monitor).
If
a grade of 80% or better is made on a UNIT Challenge Exam, then a
student
may move on to the next UNIT without completing the MyEconLab assignments
in the UNIT for which the UNIT Challenge Exam was taken. If a grade of less
than 80% is made on a UNIT Challenge Exam, then students will have to move
through each the MyEconLab assignments in the UNIT in the order they are assigned.
After students have completed these assignments with a 65% or better grade
on them, they will be able to take the UNIT Exam. Three attempts will be allowed
on each UNIT Exam without the instructor's permission--an initial test and
two re-tests. The highest score is used for grading purposes. These exams
are "take home exams" in that they can be taken
without using Respondus Lock Down Browser and Monitor on your Internet connected
compter at home.
Students
must make a 65% or better on a UNIT Exam to move on to the next UNIT Challenge
Exam OR the next UNIT MyEconLab assignments and
UNIT EXAM. If more than three attempts are needed to make a 65%, students must
set up an appointment with the professor to discuss the difficulties they are
having with the UNIT Exam. Once a UNIT Exam has been passed with a 65% or better,
the process will repeat itself on the next UNIT/Competency.
A
student has completed the course when the student completes the Final Exam.
The prerequiste for being able to take the Final Exam is that a student must
have made an 80% or better on the UNIT IV Challenge Exam OR
65% or better on the UNIT IV Exam
. The letter grade a student will be assigned will be determined by the weighted
average of the grades on the four UNIT Challenge Exams OR
UNIT Exams, as the case may be, and the grade on the Final Exam
. Each UNIT Challenge Exam OR the associated
UNIT Exam will have a weight of 15%, or 150 points. That is UNIT I will have
a weight of 15%; UNIT II, 15%; UNIT III, 15%: and UNIT IV will have a weight
of 15%; in the point system used this is equivalent to 600 points or 60% of
the grade. And the Final Exam will have a weight of 40% or 400 points.
150 + 150 + 150 + 150 + 400 = 1000 points.
|
Letter Grade
|
Weighted Average
|
Points
|
|
A
|
90 to 100%
|
900 to 1000+
|
|
B
|
80 to 89.9%
|
800 to 899
|
|
C
|
65 to 79.9%
|
650 to 799
|
|
D
|
55 to 64.9%
|
550 to 649
|
|
F
|
0 to 54.9%
|
0 to 549
|
NOTE #1: Because
of the Extra Credit Points discussed later in this syllabus, the total points
shown in the Blackboard gradebook might be 1200. However, the letter grades
will be based on points accumulated as shown in the above table. It is certainly
possible that some students might accumulate more than 1000 points.
NOTE #2:
Finally there are several important pieces of information that students need
to keep in mind when preparing for the final exam.
1) If a student makes an F on the final, (that is, makes less than 55% or
220 points out of 400 on the final exam), then the student can make no higher
than a C in the course.
In other words, a student cannot make an A or a B in the course if he makes
an F on the final.
2) If a student makes a D on the final, (that is, makes at least 55%, 220points,
but less than 65%, 260 points, on the final exam), then the student can make
no higher than a B in the course.
In other words, a student cannot make an A in the course if he makes an D on
the final.
3) If a student makes a 90% ( 360 points--not counting extra credit points)
or above on the final exam, the student will earn an A in the course regardless
of his total points.
The first two items are why a Practice Final is being provided to students
in this course. It is hoped that this Practice Final will help students better
prepare for the final and take away some of the anxiety that students normally
feel when approaching a final exam. And starting in the Spring of 2021, I
am allowing students to retest on the Final Exam if they so desire. The highest
grade of the two attempts on the Final Exam will be used to calculate grades.
NOTE #3:To
complete the logic of a Competency Based Education course, a Course Challenge
Exam will be available at the beginning of the course. This Course Challenge
Exam will be just like the comprehensive Final Exam, AND,
like the Final Exam, it must be taken using the Respondus LockDown Browser
and Respondus Monitor.. It will consist of 100 questions. The questions
will all be correlated with specific learning objectives which will be listed
on Blackboard. If a student makes an 80% or better on this Course Challenge
Exam, then the student will have demonstrated mastery of the material in this
Principles of Macroeconomics survey course and the grade the student will
be assigned will be deterermined as follows:
|
Letter Grade
|
(Grade on Course Challenge Exam not including extra
credit points)
|
|
A
|
90 to 100%
|
|
B
|
80 to 89.9%
|
If a student scores less than a 80% on the
Course Competency Exam, then the student will need to show mastery in the four
UNITS mentioned above. If a student makes a B on the Course Challenge Exam and
wants to raise his grade to an A, then the student will need to proceed through
the four UNITS as
outlined above.
Incompletes:
Incompletes are discouraged. They will be given
only when extraordinary events intervene so as to make completion of the course
impossible. If you want an incomplete, these events must be documented. To receive
an incomplete the student must have completed two exams with a grade of C or
better. The student must also come by my office to fill out an incomplete grade
form. If the form is not filled out, an incomplete grade will not be given.
Incompletes will not be given to students who
are behind schedule when the semester nears its end. Nor will incompletes be
given to students who need just a few more points to make the next higher letter
grade. Plenty of opportunity exists during the semester to accomplish your goals.
If you find yourself way behind or many points
short toward the end of the semester, you may withdraw without a grade penalty
up to three weeks before the end of the semester. Please read the following
note about withdrawals.
Attendance:
Since this is a Distance Learning course, we do
not meet regularly--in a sychronous manner-- as we would do if this was a lecture
course that met MWF at 10 am for example. For that reason, attendance will not
be taken. However that does not mean that I will not be very closely watching
your progress through the course
One of the reasons that I set up a scheule
for completing the MyEconLab assignments and UNIT Exams is to monitor how
well you are progressing through the course. There are MyEconLab assignments
due every week, and I download those grades to a spreadsheet to see who is up-to-date
on the assignments and who has fallen behind. I will be communicationg with
you abut your progress or lack thereof.
I have no set rule for withdrawing students if
they do fall behind. However, if it gets to be June 24 and you still have not
started doing any of the assignments or exams, then I will start emailing about
withdrawing from the course.
I do expect that you will keep up with the schedule
I have set out for completing the assignments and exams. And I give extra credit
points to you if you do keep up. By the way, since this is an asynchronous
course, you may work ahead of the schedule and finish to course early if you
want to.
If you find yourself way behind or many points
short toward the end of the semester, you may withdraw without a grade penalty
up to five days before the end of the semester. Please read the following note
about withdrawals.
Withdrawals:
Students are responsible for withdrawing themselves
from this course if that is what their personal situation requires. This means
that if you have taken only two of the tests and the semester ends without your
having withdrawn yourself, then you will receive an F in the course. The
instructor makes no promise either implicit or explicit to withdraw students
from the course. The instructor does reserve the right to withdraw students
who have fallen behind on taking the exams and completing the MyEconLab assignments.
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.
Important information about the consequences of
withdrawing from a course are discussed at this ACC site:
http://www.austincc.edu/apply-and-register/registration-steps/drop-or-withdraw-from-a-class.
The last day to withdraw from this course without penalty is Monday,
August 2.
Testing:
All tests in this course will be administered on-line using Blackboard. This means
that all texts can be taken at home. Some of these tests require protoring software.
Others can be taken without being proctored as explained below.
For more information about online testing at ACC, visit the Online Testing resource
page: https://www.austincc.edu/academic-and-career-programs/acconline/testing.
I. The Course Challenge Exam
A Course Challenge Exam is offered to all students who want to see if they
can pass the course without working through all the Pearson MyEconLab assignments
and taking all the UNIT Exams.
If students make an 80% or better on this Challenge Exam they will have passed
the course an need do nothing more in it. As the professor of the course, I
will give a letter grade of A or B to anyone who can do this.
The prerequistite for taking the Course Challenge Exam is to have compelted
the Mandatory Orientation Quiz with a grade of 80% or better.
This Challenge Exam is exactly like the final exam described below. By "exactly
like," I mean all its questions will be randomly drawn for 100 pools of questions
just like the Final Exam.
To learn more about the nature if this exam, please read the information given
below about the final exam.
Like the Final Exam, the Challenge Exam must be taken using Respondus LockDown
Browser and Respondus Monitor.
You must show your student ID and a photo ID when using Respondus.
If you make over an 80%, you are finished with the course. If you make less
than 80%, you will need to proceed through the normal assignments and exams
required of the course.
Good luck if you want to try taking it. If you don't succeed, it will not
damage your grade in the rest of the course in the least.
If you don't want to attempt taking it, you can proceed to the UNIT I Challenge
Exam, or you can start working on the UNIT I MyEconLab assignments.
II. UNIT EXAMS, Regualr FINAL EXAM, and UNIT
Competency Exams
All UNIT Challenge Exams, the Course Challenge Exam, regular UNIT EXAMS, and
the Final Exam are objective, multiple-choice question exams.
All UNIT Challenge
Exams, the Course Challenge Exam, UNIT EXAMS, and the Final Exam 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 above or in Blackboard. Furthermore
all exam questions will be drawn exclusively from the textbook,
Economics Today: The Macro View.
The exams over each UNIT will include ten questions
over each chapter assigned for each UNIT, so each UNIT Challenge Exam and the
corresponding UNIT EXAM will cover four chapters and consist of 40 questions.
The questions will appear on the EXAMS in the order in which the chapters were
assigned for the UNIT. For example, on the UNIT I EXAM the first ten questions
will cover Chapter 1, next ten will cover Chapter 2, questions 21-30 will cover
Chapter 3, and questions 31-40 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 regular EXAMS for each of the four UNITS will
be administered over the Internet through the course's ACC Blackboard site. Each
regular UNIT EXAM over a UNIT will be found in the corresponding UNIT Module
folder which itself will be locted in the Course Content folder a link to which
is in the left navigation column of Blackboard.
Each UNIT CHALLENGE EXAM will be found in the
Challenge Exam folder which is also in the Course Content folder.. These
CHALLENGE EXAMS are not required; they are available to students who think they
grasp the material in a UNIT well enough to pass a test over it with an 80%
or better grade and thereby skip the MyEconLab assignments associated with the
UNIT,
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 a UNIT EXAM is 40 questions long, 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/unit exam is 1040. One
billion is 1 followed by 9 zeros. 1040 is 1 followed by 40
zeros, or 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
different exams will be possible for each UNIT EXAM.
These EXAMS will also be timed. You will
have 60 minutes to answer 40 questions.
Once again, the UNIT EXAMS will be given
on the Blackboard Internet course platform used by ACC, so students will need
to sign on to Blackboard in order to take these exams.
If students make an 80% or better on the
UNIT Challenge Exams, they may move on to the next UNIT Challenge Exam without
working through all the EconLab assignemnts. If a student makes an 80% or better
on the UNIT IV Challenge Exam, he may move on directly to take the Final Exam
without working through the MyEconLab assignments in UNIT IV.
Students will have the opportunity to re-take
each UNIT EXAM twice (there are no re-tests on Challange Exams). The highest
grade will be used in determing grades. Students do not have to re-take these
exams if they make over 65% on them. A 65% grade on a UNIT EXAM will allow the
student to move on to the next UNIT or the Final Exam if it is the UNIT IV EXAM.
If a student does not make an 65% or better on a UNIT EXAM after three attempts,
then the student will need to meet with the Professor of the course before he
can re-test it again.
NOTE: All UNIT Challenge Exams, UNIT EXAMS, and the FINAL Exam have prerequisites
that have to be met before they can be taken.
UNIT I Challenge Exam: to take this exam
you must have taken and passed the Mandatory Orientation Quiz with an 80% grade
or better grade.
UNIT I EXAM: to take this exam you must
have taken and passed the Mandatory Orientation Quiz with an 80% or better grade
AND the Chapter 4 MyEconLab Quiz with a 65% or
better grade.
UNIT II Challenge Exam: to take this exam
you must have taken and passd the UNIT I Challenge EXAM with a grade of 80%
or better OR the UNIT I EXAM with a 65% or better
grade.
UNIT II EXAM: to take this exam you must
have taken and passd the UNIT I EXAM AND the Chapter
8 MyEconLab Quiz with a 65% or better grade.
UNIT III Challenge Exam: to take this exam
you must have taken and passd the UNIT II Challenge EXAM with a grade of 80%
or better OR the UNIT II EXAM with a 65% or better
grade.
UNIT III EXAM: to take this exam you must
have taken and passd the UNIT II EXAM AND the Chapter
13 MyEconLab Quiz with a 65% or better grade.
UNIT IV Challenge Exam: to take this exam
you must have taken and passd the UNIT III Challenge EXAM with a grade of 80%
or better OR the UNIT III EXAM with a 65% or better
grade.
UNIT IV EXAM: to take this exam you must
have taken and passd the UNIT III EXAM AND the
Chapter 17 MyEconLab Quiz with a 65% or better grade.
FINAL EXAM: to take this exam you must
have taken and passd the UNIT IV Challenge EXAM with a grade of 80% or better
OR the UNIT IV EXAM with a 65% or better grade AND have submitted the DAC--Economic Policy Project.
TO SEE ALL PREREQUISITES FOR ALL MYECONLAB ASSIGNMENTS
AND ALL BLACKBOARD EXAMS, CLICK HERE.
YOU SHOULD MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO TAKE THE UNIT EXAMS
NO LATER THAN THE LISTED DATE.
For all deadlines
click here.
However, all UNIT EXAMS will be available through the last day of the semester
for re-testing purposes.
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 work with the instructor to put together a plan to catch up.
Final Exam:
(Everythinkg in the section below also applies to the Course Challenge Exam.)
The Final Exam must be taken using Respondus
LockDown Browser and Respondus Monitor. More information about the Respondus
software will be given in the section immediately below this sectioin of the
syllabus.
The final
exam will be comprehensive. There will be 100 questions on it drawn from the
160 Learning Objective pools used in this course. So each question will be drawn
form one or two pools. The quesitions will be arranged in the order the chapters
were assigned. Questions over Chapter 1 will be the first ones encountered and
questions over Chapter 17
(Chapter 9 is skipped) will be the
last ones encountered.
Students will be allowed to use two 8.5x11 inch
pieces of paper with notes written on both sides. These crib sheets must
be hand written -- not typed, and it must not be a photocopy.
This crib sheet must be shown on the Respondus Monitor camera before the
start of the exam..
More information about the Final Exam will be posted on the Announcements page
on this course's Blackboard site about three weeks before the end of the semester.
(If you complete the course early, please email me, and I will supply you with
that information.)
The Final Exam may be retaken once, and there is a Practice Final available
on Blackboard.
This Practice Final is a copy of the actual Final Exam you will be taking using the Respondus Lock Down Browser, but the Practice Final Exam does not require the Respondus
Lock Down Browser. The Practice Final is the "same" as the Final Exam in the sense that it draws examination questions from the same test pools.
It is not an exact copy because it will most likely draw a different question
from each pool. Nevertheless, it will give you an excellent sense of what the
final exam will be like when you take it using the Respondus LockDown Browser. As such, it
should help you understand how much you will need to prepare for the actual
final exam. Again, Respondus is not needed to take the Practice Final Exam.
Respondus
LockDown Browser and Monitor
All ACC Testing Centers will be closed during the Summer of 2021 again because
of the social distancing requirements ACC is still following due to the Coronavirus
pandemic.
As a result, all exams that students would have had to take in an ACC Testing
Center before the pandemic will now be offered at home on Blackboard using a
free proctoring software program.
That software is entitled Respondus LockDown Browser and Respondus Monitor.
Instructions on how to download this software to your computer and how to use
it can be found on this course's ACC Blackboard site. A link in the left navigation
bar entitled "Respondus" will open a folder on Blackboard which contains all
the needed links to download the software and videos on how to use it.
This software can be used at your home or anywhere in the world that has an
Internet connection.
My guess is that around 99% of students will use Respondus only to take the
regular FINAL EXAM for this course. However, if you want to take the Course
Challenge Exam or any of the UNIT Challenge Exams, then you will have to use
this software to take those exams also.
The regular UNIT Exams DO NOT HAVE to use the Respondus software. They can
be taken with a regular browser and no monitor or proctor. They are completely
open book, open note, open Internet exams.
MyEconLab Chapter
Homework Assignments and Chapter Quizzes:
MyEconLab is the online study guide which accompanies our Miller text.
MyEconLab is required, not optional at least if you take the normal
path through the course like 99.9% of students have in the past. However, if
you pass the Course Challenge Exam with an 80% or better, you do not need to
complete any of the MyEconLab assignments, since by doing so you have demonstrated
that you have a very good grasp of the material covered in this course. You
can also skip over the MyEconLab assignments in particular UNITS if you pass
the Challenge Exam for that Unit with an 80% grade or better.
While the grades made on MyEconLab assignments are not part of the course grade,
students cannot move on to the UNIT EXAMS without making at least and 65% on
the assigned Chapter Homework Assignments and Chapter Quizzes that are part
of the assignments for each chapter. More details about how this works will
be found in the Grading section. A link to a list of all prerequisites for MyEconLab
assignments and UNIT EXAMS can be found HERE.
MyEconLab has three types of assignments:
- 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 drop down
window of Learning Aids at the top and to the right of the question or problem.
These Learning Aids include
- Help Me Solve This - Guided Solutions
take you step by step to the correct answer
- 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.
- Graphing - allows you to draw a
graph of the question to help find an answer
- Ask My Instructor - emails the question
to me, so I can help you with it
- Chapter Homework Assignments: These
are graded question sets, set up like the Study Plan sets. Each chapter will
have 20 homework questions that are worth 1 point each for a total of 20 points.
Students must get at least 13 of these questions correct before they can move
on to the associated Chapter Quiz.
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.
You will be allowed to submit these Homework Assignments after their dealine
passes with a penalty of 2% per day being subtracted from your score on the
Homework Assignment.
That means these assignments MUST be done within
17 days after the deadline passes. Any later and it will not be possible to
earn an 65% or better on it. There is no limit on how many times a student may
take a homework assignment. The questions do not vary much from one attempt
to the next.
- Chapter Quizzes: These are graded assignment sets worth about twice
as much as the Homework sets. Each chapter will have 20 quiz questions that
are worth 40 points.
Students must get at least 13 of these questions correct before they can move
on to the next Chapter Homwork Assignment or to the UNIT EXAM.
Learning Aids are also available on quizzes while you are working on them,
and you will be able to review the graded questions after submitting the quiz
with the help of the Learning Aids.
You will be allowed three attempts on the quizzes just as you are on the on-line
UNIT EXAMS. You will also be able to complete them after their deadline passes
with a penalty of 2% per day being subtracted from your score on a late quiz
for each day it is late. However, like the on-line, mid-term exams, the highest
of the three attempts will be used, not the grade on the last attempt. Since
you will need at least a 65% on these MyEconLab Chapter Quizzes to move on
to the next MyEconLab Chapter Homework Assignment (or, when it is the last
chapter in a UNIT, to the UNIT EXAM), these quizzes must be done within 17
days after the deadline passes.
You will have 60 minutes to complete a Chapter Quiz.
The Results page will give you your scores
on each assignment, as well as your overall average, and it will allow you to
review the quizzes and homework assignments you have already completed.
Chapter Quizzes and Chapter Homework Assignments will have due dates.
You will be able to do the assignments for credit after their deadlines have
passed with a penalty being exacted for every day they are late.
Deadlines for Homework Assignments and Quizzes on MyEconLab can be found here:
http://www.austincc.edu/sondg/homework/macro/2020-2021/2nd5wSummerMEL.htm.
Extra Credit Points:
There are two ways for students to improve their grades by earning extra credit.
The total amount of extra credit available is equal to 20%
of the course grade.
Extra Credit Type 1: Take the tests on time:
You can earn extra credit by taking your exams on or before the initial testing
deadlines.
You will earn extra credit equal to 10 points on each UNIT EXAM (or UNIT CHALLENGE
Exam on which you make an 80% or better) taken on or before its extra credit
deadline. You will not lose this extra credit if you take the re-test for that
UNIT after the deadline for regular UNIT EXAMS.
For regular UNIT EXAMS you can earn another 10 points extra credit by completing
the MyEconLab assignments that are a prerequisite to taking the regular UNIT
EXAM for each UNIT as long as the UNIT EXAM is taken by the extra credit deadline.
These extra credit points are not avaialble to those who take and pass the UNIT
CHALLENGE EXAMS.
This means there are a total of 80 points, or 8% of the course grade, available
as extra credit just by taking the UNIT EXAMS on or before their deadlines.
If you take the Final on or before its deadline, you will earn 20 points extra
credit or 2% of the course grade. This extra credit is available to those who
take the COURSE CHALLENGE EXAM also.
So the total extra credit avialble by taking all exams by their due date is
10% of the total number of points available in the course.
Extra Credit Type 2: Taking Extra Credit Assignment
Exams over the unassigned chapters of the textbook.:
Chapters 9, 18, 32, and 33 are not assigned and
will not be covered on any UNIT EXAM on Blackboard or on the Final Exam.
However small tests over these chapters will be made available on Blackboard.
Each of these exams is worth up to 5% of the course grade--10% in total.
If students are looking for another way to improve their grade, then they are
encouraged to read these chapters and take the exams connected to Extra Credi
Assignment 1 and Extra Credit Assignment 2.
Extra Credit Assignment 1 Exam covers chapters 9 and 18. Students must complete
the associated MyEconLab assignments with at least a 65% score to be able to
take it.
Extra Credit Assignment 2 Exam covers chapters 32 and 33. Students must complete
the associated MyEconLab assignments with at least a 65% score to be able to
take it.
Students must make 65% or better on these exams to earn any points on them.
For example, if a student makes an 80% on one of these Extra Credit Assignment
Exams, then he will receive 40 extra credit points: 80%*50=40. If a student
makes a 64% on one, then he will earn no extra credit points.
The deadline for completing these extra credit tests is August 8.
Deadlines
|
EXAM
|
Unit Covered
|
Chapters Covered
|
Exam Deadline for Extra Credit Points
|
Location of Exam
|
|
1
|
I
|
1, 2, 3, 4
|
July 15
|
Blackboard
|
|
2
|
II
|
5, 6, 7, 8
|
July 22
|
Blackboard
|
|
3
|
III
|
10, 11, 12, 13
|
July 29
|
Blackboard
|
|
4
|
IV
|
14, 15, 16, 17
|
August 5
|
Blackboard
|
|
Final
|
ALL
|
1-8 & 10-17
|
August 8
|
Respondus
|
All UNIT EXAMS will be available for re-testing on
Blackboard through the last day of the semester if a studnet has taken
the intial test by its deadline or has met the prerequisites for taking
it.
FINAL
EXAM extra credit deadlin is Sunday, August 8.
• The Final Exam will remain available through Sunday, August
8. Beware though! Since Exam 4 is a prerequisite for taking the Final
Exam, a student couldn't take the initial attempt on Exam 4 at any time
after 9 p.m. on Sunday, August 8, and have any hope of taking the Final
Exam the same day.
•The Final Exam can be re-taken once. |
COLLEGE POLICIES
-
Campus Operations
To limit the spread of COVID-19, ACC campuses remain closed to students
and the public. There are no face-to-face classes or services.
-
Statement on Academic Integrity
Austin Community College values academic integrity in the educational process.
Acts of academic dishonesty/misconduct undermine the learning process, present
a disadvantage to students who earn credit honestly, and subvert the academic
mission of the institution. The potential consequences of fraudulent credentials
raise additional concerns for individuals and communities beyond campus
who rely on institutions of higher learning to certify students' academic
achievements, and expect to benefit from the claimed knowledge and skills
of their graduates. Students must follow all instructions given by faculty
or designated college representatives when taking examinations, placement
assessments, tests, quizzes, and evaluations. Actions constituting scholastic
dishonesty include, but are not limited to, plagiarism, cheating, fabrication,
collusion, falsifying documents, or the inappropriate use of the college’s
information technology resources. Further information is available at https://www.austincc.edu/about-acc/academic-integrity-and-disciplinary-process
-
Student Rights & Responsibilities
Students at ACC have the same rights and protections under the Constitution
of the United States. These rights include freedom of speech, peaceful assembly,
petition and association. As members of the community, students have the
right to express their own views, but must also take responsibility for
according the same rights to others and not interfere or disrupt the learning
environment. Students are entitled to fair treatment, are expected to act
consistently with the values of the college, and obey local, state and federal
laws. www.austincc.edu/srr.
As a student of Austin Community College you are expected to abide by the
Student Standards of Conduct. https://www.austincc.edu/students/students-rights-and-responsibilities/student-standards-of-conduct
-
Senate Bill 212 and Title IX Reporting Requirements
Under Senate Bill 212 (SB 212), the faculty and all College employees are
required to report any information concerning incidents of sexual harassment,
sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking committed by or against an
ACC student or employee. Federal Title IX law and College policy also require
reporting incidents of sex- and gender-based discrimination and sexual misconduct.
This means faculty and non-clinical counseling staff cannot keep confidential
information about any such incidents that you share with them.
If you would like to talk with someone confidentiality, please contact the
District Clinical Counseling Team who can connect you with a clinical counselor
on any ACC campus: (512) 223-2616, or to schedule online: https://www.austincc.edu/students/counseling
. While students are not required to report, they are encouraged to contact
the Compliance Office for resources and options: Charlene Buckley, District
Title IX Officer, (512) 223-7964; compliance@austincc.edu .
If a student makes a report to a faculty member, the faculty member will
contact the District Title IX Officer for follow-up.
-
Student Complaints
A defined process applies to complaints about an instructor or other college
employee. You are encouraged to discuss concerns and complaints with college
personnel and should expect a timely and appropriate response. When possible,
students should first address their concerns through informal conferences
with those immediately involved; formal due process is available when informal
resolution cannot be achieved.
Student complaints may include (but are not limited to) issues regarding
classroom instruction, college services and offices on the basis of actual
or perceived race, color, national origin, religion, age, gender, gender
identity, sexual orientation, political affiliation, or disability.
Further information about the complaints process, including the form used
to submit complaints, is available at:
>http://www.austincc.edu/students/students-rights-and-responsibilities/student-complaint-procedures
-
Statement on Privacy
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) protects confidentiality
of students’ educational records. Grades cannot be provided by faculty
over the phone, by e-mail, or to a fellow student.
All grades in this course will be posted on Blackboard. Only the student
and the instructor have access to these grades.
-
Safety Statement
Health and safety are of paramount importance in classrooms, laboratories,
and field activities. Students are expected to learn and comply with ACC
environmental, health and safety procedures and agree to follow ACC safety
policies. Emergency Procedures posters and Campus Safety Plans are posted
in each classroom and should be reviewed at the beginning of each semester.
All incidents (injuries/illness/fire/property damage/near miss) should be
immediately reported to the course instructor. Additional information about
safety procedures and how to sign up to be notified in case of an emergency
can be found at http://www.austincc.edu/emergency
Everyone is expected to conduct themselves professionally with respect and
courtesy to all. Anyone who thoughtlessly or intentionally jeopardizes the
health or safety of another individual may be immediately dismissed from
the day’s activity and will be referred to the Dean of Student Services
for disciplinary action.
In the event of disruption of normal classroom activities due to an emergency
situation or an illness outbreak, the format for this course may be modified
to enable completion of the course. In that event, students will be provided
an addendum to the class syllabus that will supersede the original version.
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Use of ACC email
All College e-mail communication to students will be sent solely to the
student’s ACCmail account, with the expectation that such communications
will be read in a timely fashion. ACC will send important information and
will notify you of any college related emergencies using this account.
Students should only expect to receive email communication from their instructor
using this account. Likewise, students should use their ACCmail account
when communicating with instructors and staff. Information about ACC email
accounts, including instructions for accessing it, are available at: http://www.austincc.edu/help/accmail/questions-and-answers
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Campus Carry
The Austin Community College District concealed handgun policy ensures compliance
with Section 411.2031 of the Texas Government Code (also known as the Campus
Carry Law), while maintaining ACC’s commitment to provide a safe environment
for its students, faculty, staff, and visitors. Beginning August 1, 2017,
individuals who are licensed to carry (LTC) may do so on campus premises
except in locations and at activities prohibited by state or federal law,
or the college’s concealed handgun policy. In addition, concealed
weapons are not allowed on ACC-sponsored field trips where the school owns
or has chartered or leased vehicles for transportation.
It is the responsibility of license holders to conceal their handguns at
all times. Persons who see a handgun on campus are asked to contact the
ACC Police Department by dialing 222 from a campus phone or 512-223-7999.
Please refer to the concealed handgun policy online at http://austincc.edu/campuscarry
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Discrimination Prohibited
The College seeks to maintain an educational environment free from any form
of discrimination or harassment including but not limited to discrimination
or harassment on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, age,
sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.
Faculty at the College are required to report concerns regarding sexual
misconduct (including all forms of sexual harassment and sex and gender-based
discrimination) to the Manager of Title IX/Title VI/ADA Compliance. Licensed
clinical counselors are available across the District and serve as confidential
resources for students.
Additional information about Title VI, Title IX, and ADA compliance can
be found in the ACC Compliance Resource Guide available at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1o55xINAWNvTYgI-fs-JbDyuaMFDNvAjz/view
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Use of the Testing Center
All testing is currently online. While campuses are closed, exams for courses
will be online tests that students can take from home. For more information
about online testing at ACC, visit the Online Testing resource page: https://www.austincc.edu/academic-and-career-programs/acconline/testing.
- Student Support Services
The success of our students is paramount, and ACC offers a variety of support
services to help, as well as providing numerous opportunities for community
engagement and personal growth.
- Student Support
ACC strives to provide exemplary support to its students and offers
a broad variety of opportunities and services. Information on these
campus services and resources is available at http://www.austincc.edu/students.
A comprehensive array of student support services is available online
at: https://www.austincc.edu/coronavirus/remote-student-support.
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Student Accessibiliity Services
Students with documented disabilities who need classroom, academic,
or other accommodations must request them through the office Student
Accessibility Services (SAS). SAS offices are located at each major
campus. Students are encouraged to request accommodations when they
register for courses or at least three weeks before the start of the
semester; otherwise, the provision of accommodations may be delayed.
Students who have received approval for accommodations from SAS for
this course must provide the instructor with the document titled "Notice
of Approved Accommodations" from SAS before accommodations will be provided.
Accommodations will not be provided retroactively. Arrangements by the
instructor for academic accommodations can only be made after he or
she receives the "Notice of Approved Accommodations" from the student.
Additional information about Student Accessibility Services is available
at https://www.austincc.edu/offices/student-accessibility-services-and-assistive-technology
- Academic Support
ACC offers academic support services on all of its campuses. These
services, which include online tutoring, academic coaching, and supplemental
instruction, are free to enrolled ACC students. Tutors are available
in a variety of subjects ranging from accounting to pharmacology. Students
may receive these services on both a drop-in and referral basis.
An online tutor request can be made here:
https://de.austincc.edu/bbsupport/online-tutoring-request/.
Additional tutoring information can be found here:
https://www.austincc.edu/onlinetutoring.
- Library Services
ACC has a full-service library at each of its campuses to support ACC
courses and programs and to provide students with research and assignment
assistance from expert faculty librarians. ACC students have full rights
and privileges to access Library Services online 24/7 via the ACC Library
website and students can use their ACCeID logins to access all online
materials, including ebooks, articles from library databases, and streaming
videos. ACC Libraries also provide an "Ask a Librarian" service, which
allows students to reach a librarian 24/7 through online chat "live."
Faculty librarians are also available via email and phone seven days
a week during hours of operation. Visit:
- Student Organizations
ACC has over seventy student organizations, offering a variety of cultural,
academic, vocational, and social opportunities. They provide a chance
to meet with other students who have the same interests, engage in service-learning,
participate in intramural sports, gain valuable field experience related
to career goals, and much else. Student Life coordinates many of these
activities, and additional information is available at http://sites.austincc.edu/sl/.
- Personal Support
Resources to support students are available at every campus. To learn
more, ask your professor or visit the campus Support Center. All resources
and services are free and confidential. Some examples include, among
others:
Mental health counseling services are available throughout the ACC Student
Services District to address personal and or mental health concerns: http://www.austincc.edu/students/counseling
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If you are struggling with a mental health or personal crisis, call one
of the following numbers to connect with resources for help. However if
you are afraid that you might hurt yourself or someone else, call 911
immediately.
Free Crisis Hotline Numbers:
- Austin / Travis County 24 hour Crisis & Suicide hotline: 512-472-HELP
(4357)
- The Williamson County 24 hour Crisis hotline: 1-800-841-1255
- Bastrop County Family Crisis Center hotline: 1-888-311-7755
- Hays County 24 Hour Crisis Hotline: 1-877-466-0660
- National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
- Crisis Text Line: Text "home" to 741741
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
National Helpline: 1-800-662-HELP (4357)
- National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Helpline:1-800-950-NAMI
(6264)
- Illness
Any ACC student or employee with symptoms or exposure to the COVID-19 virus
should inform their professor(s) or supervisor and complete the college's
self reporting form: https://cm.maxient.com/reportingform.php?AustinCC&layout_id=124
