ECON 2301
Instructor: James Sondgeroth
FALL 2021
August 23 - December 12ACC email | |
Extra Credit | |
Incompletes | |
Withdrawals | |
ACC Safety Statement Handgun Policy |
Office:
Rio Grande Campus(RGC)/3000 Building at 1218 West Ave. 78701
Rm. 3342
RGC Phone: 512-223-3390
The purpose of this course is to familiarize the student with the generally accepted principles of macroeconomics. Macroeconomics is concerned with such things as, economic growth, unemployment, inflation, and the business cycle. Though ultimately based on the actions of individual households and business firms (microeconomics), macroeconomics deals with aggregates--i.e., consumers as a whole, producers as a whole, exporters and importers as a whole, fiscal policy --the effects of government spending and taxation, and the monetary policy of the central bank.
The course is subdivided into several major areas as follows: (1) microeconomic foundation; (2) national income accounting; (3) growth; (4) inflation; (5) unemployment; (6) money and banking; (7) international trade and the exchange rate; (8) the business cycle; (9) national income determination with the effects of fiscal and monetary policy included; (10) an explanation of our current situation.
Course Description, Rationale, and Common Course Objectives/Student Outcomes as established by the economics department:
1. Course Description- Principles of Macroeconomics deals with consumers as a whole, producers as a whole, the effects of 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.
2. Course Rationale- This course is meant to give students insight into the dynamics of our national economy. The knowledge gained in the course 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 administration, economics, government, and social work courses.
3. 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.
4. Discipline Program Student Learning Outcomes.
- PSLO 1: Socially Optimal Market Outcomes- Model and explain under what circumstances 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.
5. 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.
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Students have already paid for access to the eTextbook used in this course. Its paperback cover is pictured to the left. It is available to students at this time. Students can find it by clicking on "Arnold eTextbook" in the left navigation column of the course's ACC Blackboard site. |
The lecture topics/questions upon which the exams will be based will function as broad learning objectives for this course.
These lecture topics/learning objectives can be found by clicking here.
All of the multiple-choice questions found on the on-line exams will center about the same list of topical questions. The instructor will make available the list of questions at the beginning of each unit of the course. Each unit will cover 14 to 18 of these questions. The instructor has composed a pool of 10 to 40 questions over each topic/ learning objective/question. The on-line exams will randomly draw from 1 to 3 questions from each of these pools. Because of this, these topics will constitute learning objectives of this course.
Regular attendance is expected. Frequent exposure to an instructor's explanations is an important factor in a student's ability to master the material covered. (Here is a scatter graph of the correlation between attendance and grades: http://www.austincc.edu/sondg/images/graphs/attendance.PNG.) I will take attendance evey class period. I know that Blackboard Collaborate automatically takes attendance and keeps tabs on when students joined a session and when they log off, but I will also be calling roll for the first half to two-thirds of the course. I will reward students who attend frequently by awarding them extra credit points. These extra credit points will equal up to 5% of the course grade. If a student misses more than 5 classes, these extra credit points will disappear. See the section on Extra Credit Points below.
Blackboard is an on-line classroom management tool. It includes a grade book, a discussion board, ways to communicate between students and between students and professor, and a testing facility.
Instructions on how to log into this course's Blackboard site can be found at http://itdl.austincc.edu/blackboard/stlogin.htm.
DON’T HAVE A USERNAME AND PASSWORD YET?
If you have not created your new ACC Username or Password through ACCeID Manager, then please go to this link: https://acceid.austincc.edu/idm/user/login.jsp.
Do not fill in your Username and Password on this page, since you do not have either yet. DO CLICK on “First-Time Login.”
Your ACCeID will be the first letter of your legal, given, first name and your seven digit ACC ID number. For example, fictional student Adam Smith might have this Username a0067701.
Once you submit this Username, just follow the instructions.
Blackboard Collaborate-Virtual Lecture and 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 meet with the class on Mondays and Wednesdays during class hours only during the first three weeks of the semester and to hold virtual office hours now that face-to-face meetings for lectures and 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 2301.28133.053 in the subject line.
In a normal semester, I would administer three essays exams in class and three multiple-choic exams on Blackboard. To reduce my chances of picking up the SARS-Covid 19 virus, I am only going to require multiple-choice exams. These exams will be supplemented with a written project and five written homework assignments all of which will be submitted digitally through Blackboard.
Three Midterm Multiple-Choice Exams:There will be three cumulative, midterm, multiple choice exams, and also three cumulative essay exams. There will be no comprehensive final exam. This is because the cumulative nature of the objective mid-term and essay exams will go some way toward meeting the objective of a comprehensive final exam.
The three midterm multiple-choice exams will consist of between 30 and 50 questions. These exams will be administered on-line through the course's Blackboard site. They will not be administered during class. Students may take them at home if they like. These exams will be timed. The multiple choice questions on these exams will be directly correlated to the lecture topics/learning objectives made available on Blackboard and on the Internet.
The first on-line midterm objective/multiple-choice exam will consist of 30 questions worth 6 points apiece for a total of 180 possible points. The time limit on this exam will be 45 minutes.
The second on-line midterm objective/multiple-choice exam will consist of 40 questions. The first 10 questions will cover the material from the first unit of the course and be worth 6 points apiece; the remaining 30 will cover the material we have gone over in class, and in the recorded lectures over those topics, since the first exam, and they will be worth 7 points apiece. In total there the second exam will be worth 270 points. The time limit on this exam will be 60 minutes.
The third on-line midterm objective/multiple-choice exam will consist of 50 questions. The first 10 questions will again cover material from the first unit and be worth 5 points apiece. The next 10 questions will cover material from the second unit of the course and be worth 6 points apiece. The remaining 30 questions will cover the material we have gone over in class, and the recorded lectures over those topics, since the second exam, and they will be worth 8 points apiece. In total the third exam will be worth 350 points. The time limit on this exam will be 75 minutes.
In total, these three objective, multiple-choice exams will be worth 800 points or 80% of the course grade.
Students must take them by the deadlines set in the "Tentative Lecturing/Testing Schedule.
Resopondus Lock Down Browser and Respondus Monitor
The three multiple-choic exams mentioned immediately above will require that a proctoring software be used to take them.
This software is entitled Respondus LockDown Browser and Respondus Monitor, it is provided free of charge to students by Austin Community College.
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.
SCHECULED DATES & Deadlines for On-Line Multiple Choice Exams:
On-line Multiple Choice Exams Exam 1 To be taken sometime between Thursday evening, September 22, and Friday, October 1. Exam 2 To be taken sometime between Thursday evening, October 21, and Wednesday, October 27. Exam 3 To be taken sometime between Tuesday evening, December 7, and Sunday, December 12.
- Mandated Macroeconomic Disciple Assessment Cycle (DAC) Assignment:
This assignment is worth 100 points, or 10%, of the course grade, and it is a prerequisite for the Final Exam becoming available to students..
The Discipline Assessment Cycle Assignment is mandated by the College to be carried out by each discipline in one of its courses each year. This year the College has mandated that the Economics Department assess the General Education Compentency (GEC) of 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. The Economics Department has decided to implement this madate by assessing its Program Student Learning Objective (PSLO) #3: Economic Policy - defend and criticize the role of economic policy in a mixed market economy. (See the section of syllabus entitled "Student Learning Outcomes" above for a list of all the GECs and PSLOs.)
The Economics Department leaves the nature and design of this assignment up to each instructor, but it has strongly suggested that instructors design and implement an assignment that asks students to contrast Keynesian (state interventionist) and Classical (laissez-faire) schools of thought regarding fiscal policy and monetary policy. This is what I plan to do.
Unfortunately, I do not have the assignment prepared at this time. I should have it ready to go by the end of February.
Here is an outline of what I am thinking of doing at this time:
- Keynesianism
- Identify in very general terms what Keynes thought caused the Great Depression of the 1930s.(from lecture but I am also interested in what your research might turn up)
- Identify a very specific cause Keynes pointed to as the cause and indicate what government policy he thought could be implemented to get the economy working again. (again from lecture and research)
- Solve a Keynesian "Autonomous Spending Multplier" problem.
- And do a Google search to find out how large economists estimate the Keynesian multiplier to be.
- Classical Economists
- If Classical economists believe markets always tend to equilibrium, what then causes recessions and depressions? (from lecture and your own research)
- After watching Milton Friedman's "Anatomy of a Crisis," explain what Friedman, a neo-classical economist, thinks caused the Great Depression to be so severe.
- State briefly how this agrees with or disagrees with Keynes' analysis of the cause and severity of the Great Depression.
- What policy would Friedman's classical analysis lead him to propose.
- Look up data on FRED on what happened to the money supply in the 2007-2009 Great Recession.
This may look like a lot of work to complete, but you should note two things. First, all of these can be answered with a short answer or a brief paragraph at the most. Second, I will provide lecture videos and topic videos that students can use as an essential resourse to answer these questions.
The assignment will be due on or before Wednesday, November 24. Please use Blackboard to submit the assignment: Go to DAC Assignment/Macroeconomics Policy Assignment file and attach your documents there. (Late papers will be accepted, but they will be penalized 5 points (5%) for every day they are late. Submittal of this assignment is a prerequisite for taking Exam 3. The Exam 3 will not be available to students who have not submitted it.)
- Traditional Written Homework:
There will be five traditional homework assignments composed by the instructor. Altogether they will be worth 100 points or 10% of the course grade. These assignemnts will cover material gone over in lectures and are meant to reinforce the topics covered in those lectures. I will make them available on Blackboard. Students will submit them on Blackboard by a due date. Each of these assignments will be worth 2% of the course grade or 20 points.
There are 1000 points available all together. The three objective/multiple-choice midterm exams will be worth a total of 800 points. The traditional written homework assignments will be worth 100 points. Finally the Macro Discipline Assessment Cycle (DAC) project will be worth 100 points.
Final letter grades will be distributed according to the following scale:
Letter Grade Points Percent A 1000-900 [100-90%] B 899-800 (90-80%] C 799-650 (80-65%] D 649-550 (65-55%] F 549-0 (55-0%] EXTRA CREDIT: The assignments in the ftwo week of class orienting students to the course can be worth up to 20 points: the information sheet is worth 10 points, and the Syllabus Quiz is worth up to 10 extra credit points if they are completed before midnight of the fourth class day of the semester. If needed, the exams will be curved to make the class average equal to 75%. If the class average is at or above 75%, then there will be no curve.
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 the first two exams with a C or better. The student must also come by my office to fill out an incomplete 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.
Please click on this link to read ACC's policy on Incomplete grades.
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 four weeks before the end of the semester. Please read the following note about withdrawals.
The instructor will withdraw students who have four absences.
Outside that circumstance, students are responsible for withdrawing themselves from this course if that is what their personal situation requires. This means that if you have taken no tests or only a few of the tests and the semester ends without you 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 except for excessive absenses (four or more).
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 are restricted to six non-punitive withdrawals for the whole of their undergraduate careers while attending state colleges.
The last day to withdraw from this course without penalty is Thursday, November 18.
There are three ways to earn extra credit in this course. It is advisable to take advantage of every one of them. They are:
The assignments connected to the first week of class orientation can be worth up to 20 points: the information sheet is worth 10 points, and the Syllabus Quiz is worth up to 10 points if they are completed before midnight of the fourth class day of the semester. Both can be completed on Blackboard.
A curve will be added to exam grades the class day after an online unit exam is due. This curve will be calculated to bring the class average up to 75%. If the class average is 75% or above, then no curve will be added.
Points in addition to the maximum points possible from exams, homework assignments, and the Mandatory DAC Assignment are available through good attendance. Each student will start with 50 extra credit points for attendance. Each absence will reduce these extra credit points by a number of points as shown in the table below:
absence 0 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th* 7th* 8th* 9th* ...31 points deducted for absence 0 0 5 6 11 17 11 0 0 0 0 total extra credit points remaining 50 50 45 39 28 11 0 0 0 0 0 * As you can see, if you miss more than five classes, your extra credit attendance points will go to zero.
More than six absences will make a student subject to withdrawal without notice. Please refer to the course policy on Withdrawals immediately about this section.
Week No. |
Dates |
CHAPTER/ASSIGNMENTS |
1 |
8-23 to 8-29 |
Introduction and Chapter 1 and Appendix A |
2 |
8-30 to 9-5 |
Chapter 2 |
3 |
9-6 to 9-12 |
Chapter 3 |
4 |
9-13 to 9-19 |
Chapter 4 |
5 |
9-20 to 9-26 |
Chapter 6 started |
6 |
9-27 to 10-3 |
Chapter 6 continued |
7 |
10-4 to 10-10 |
Chapter 7 |
8 |
10-11 to 10-17 |
Chapter 8 |
9 |
10-18 to 10-24 |
Chapter 9 |
10 |
10-25 to 10-31 |
Chapter 10 |
11 |
11-1 to 11-7 |
Chapter 10 continued |
12 |
11-8 to 11-14 |
Chapter 11 |
13 |
11-15 to 11- 21 |
Chapter 12 |
14 |
11-22 to 11-28 |
Chapter 13 |
15 |
11-29 to 12-5 |
Chapter 14 |
16 |
12-6 to 12-12 |
Chapter 14 continued |
On-line Multiple Choice Exams | |
Exam 1 | To be taken sometime between Thursday evening, September 22, and Friday, October 1. |
Exam 2 | To be taken sometime between Thursday evening, October 21, and Wednesday, October 27. |
Exam 3 | To be taken sometime between Tuesday evening, December 6, and Sunday, December 12. |
Some important things to remember:
Because of the everchanging situation, please go to ACC’s Covid website at https://www.austincc.edu/coronavirus?ref=audiencemenu for the latest updates and guidance.
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.