COURSE SYLLABUS: PLEASE SAVE. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MATERIAL CONTAINED IN THIS DOCUMENT. ANY CHANGES WILL BE ANNOUNCED IN CLASS. IF YOU MISS ANY CLASS FIND OUT IF ANY CHANGES HAVE BEEN MADE FROM A FELLOW STUDENT. CHANGES WILL ONLY BE ANNOUNCED ONCE.
Econ 101,
#50038 Summer
2009, Palomar College
MTWTh, 8-9:50, P-30
Instructor:
Bill O'Connor
Blackboard>>>>>>>>>>>>
http://www.palomar.edu/pconline
Office Hours: By
appointment Web
site: www.oocities.org/ecoart2k
For appointments ONLY
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Email:
econ@live.com
*ALL OTHER ISSUES SHOULD BE
HANDLED IN CLASS.
All
email should include “Palomar Macro” in the subject or it
might be sent to my spam filter.
***********************************************************************************************************************************************************
This course has a Blackboard
component. You
should go to the Palomar College Homepage and click on Online Students
at the top.
If you are unfamiliar with Blackboard, at Palomar, then read the
directions
about how to login. Once you sign on you will see our course and
click on
it. Read the Announcement page and take a look around the
site.
Please read the Syllabus, which is required reading. You will see
many
advantages in using this system as a supplement to our course.
Further,
your email will have to be correct on this system, in case I need to
inform you
of any news. Check your
Welcome to the Summer Semester and
macroeconomics
at Palomar College. Macroeconomics, commonly called macro, looks
at the
"big picture" and is the study of aggregates. Major topics in macro
include: national income accounting, growth, unemployment, inflation,
income
determination (two schools of thought), fiscal policy, monetary policy,
money
creation, exchange rates and the balance of payments. This course
transfers to
UC,
Textbooks and Materials:
Required: "Principles of Macroeconomics": By Case and Fair, 8th edition. Bring a #2 pencil, a Scantron form (that has 50 questions on each side, a small pocket dictionary and a calculator to each exam.
*I do not allow students
to share
dictionaries or calculators during an exam. Used Scantrons are
unacceptable. New
Scantrons will be used
for all exams
Examinations and Grading:
The course grade will be based on three examinations (two midterms and a final). Each of the foregoing items will be worth 50 points each for a total of 150 total points. You have an option to take the first two midterms over again on the class meeting before the final or Too Be Annouced (TBA) whichever is most efficient. These retakes may be offered online in the Blackboard system if time is an issue. You can use this option to try and better your first score on an exam, or, to make up an exam that you missed. The retake exams are harder than the originally scheduled exam. What if you have commitments during the term that require missing an exam? Can you have exams individually scheduled to meet your needs? NO! Use the option above, if you miss an exam then you must take a retake exam.
WHAT
IF YOU TAKE
AN EXAM OVER TO IMPROVE A PREVIOUS TEST SCORE AND YOU SCORE
**You may not refer to any unauthorized materials or interact with any other students during an exam. Students are allowed to bring one three by five inch card (or cheat sheet) to each exam, which you can cram with any information that you want on the front and back. Copies of practice exams are not allowed on your cheat sheet. All cheat sheets must be hand written, nothing typed or photocopied.
I grade on the standard scale, i.e., 100% to 90% = A, 89% to 80% = B, 79% to 70% = C, 69% to 60% = D and 59% and below = F. I take the points you earned and divide that by the total points possible, and I do round by convention. What happens if you score just one point away from a higher grade? Nothing! Can you get that one extra point? No! Well, what about some extra credit then? If there is extra credit assignments it will be available to all students who attend class on the day the assignment is given.
I reserve the right to curve the grades if less than 30% of the class is in the A/B range. If no one gets an A and 30% of the class has a B, then there will be no curve. I will not know if there will be a curve until I see the final numbers at the end of the term. The best way for you to think about it is assume the curve does not exist, because I have not had to use one in quite awhile.
When filling out your Scantron form
during an
exam you might experience eraser problems. This is where the
Scantron
machine can misread. To guard against this: you must circle the QUESTION NUMBER on your Scantron form for any row with an
eraser
problem. Please do
not circle your answer choice, just circle the question number. If you fail to circle the question number
and an
error occurs -- no credit will be given.
Attendance:
If you do miss a class, or part of a class, remember that you are responsible for what is said in class. I encourage you to get the phone numbers of people sitting around you, so that you can find out what is going on in class. Roll will not be taken, except for the first day.
If you decide to quit coming to class, please remember to drop yourself and not assume this will be done for you. This is important because I do not drop students for lack of attendance.
There is something you should know about leaving class early -- I consider it rude. I am talking about leaving class while it is underway. If you leave class while it is in session, you will lose all extra credit possibilities and if you do it twice you will be dropped. Exceptions: If you have a reason for leaving early clear it with me before class. If you are sick, using the rest room or getting a drink and return to class there is no problem.
Cheating, Plagiarism & Grades of "I" or "W"
Anyone caught cheating or plagiarizing will be given a zero for the exam or writing assignment. IMPORTANT NOTE: I have never approved a request for "I" grades, or, "retroactive W" grades.
Class Etiquette
Try to be on time, but if you do come in late, please take a seat without interrupting the class. Remember to respect the rights of others when you choose to carry on a conversation during class. If you interrupt the class, I may ask you to take it outside.
The most important days to be on time are the day of the exam and the day the exams are returned. If you are more than a half-hour late for the exam, or a student has already finished in less than a half-hour, then you will not be allowed to take the exam. When exams are returned, I do this at the beginning of class and then proceed to go over the test. I do not interrupt the class to hand back an exam to everyone that comes in late, so if you do come in late, you can pickup your exam at the break.
The classroom is an electronic free
zone. Cell
phones are not to be seen in
class. Before you come into the
classroom hide all electronic devices--they can not be used and must be
turned
completely off, including vibrator mode. If any of your
electronic
devices goes off in class then you will not be eligible for extra
credit.
If it goes off a second time you will be dropped. This includes
any
electronic device that makes a noise, even a computer.
Computers can not be used in class for any
reason.
You will be handed all your original work back, please save it all until you are satisfied your grade was computed correctly. If you believe I made a mistake computing your grade, leave a message and I will make arrangements to see you. Bring all your graded material and if I made an error, I would be glad to change it. During the semester, please do not ask to see my grade book to check your grade, there is sensitive information about others in the grade book and I want to protect their right to privacy. Furthermore, since everything is returned to you promptly, you should know your own grade. It is posted on Blackboard so look it up there.
In case of an emergency you may need to turn in your scantrons again so that I can verify the grade record. You are responsible for saving the original copy.
Sometimes, even before all the exams are taken, students will ask me to speculate on what their course grade might be? I feel that these powers of prediction are beyond my scope. I have no known connection to "The Psychic Network," though I could use an easy, highly paid part-time job.
INSTRUCTOR RESPONSIBILITIES:
I pledge to act in a professional manner by: starting the class on time; treating people in a respectful manner; presenting the material in a clear and logical manner; by answering all relevant questions, to the best of my ability, that would clarify any issue of course content; to be clear about what material will be on the exams; to give all students the same access to information: to make the course as interesting as possible; and above all, to be consistent and fair. Do not be afraid to challenge me with relevant questions on content, or, to point out a mistake I have made -- I'm human. If I can not take the challenge, then I'm not worth the money you paid. I enjoy what I do because of the challenge, and if I need to strengthen an area, this how I find out how to improve. You are my client, and without students I wouldn't have a job.
Additionally, I feel it is my job to
simplify the
material given in the text, otherwise you could simply read the
book. So,
my presentation will be different, in terms of style, than the
textbook.
The textbook presentation will typically be more formal. In both
cases
the theory presented will be the same. I test you on being able
to identify,
or apply that theory to a set of circumstances that will be different
than the
examples given by the book, or myself. You can assume that the
style of
the exam will be formal. PLEASE REVIEW THE
PRACTICE EXAMS BEFORE TAKING THE ACTUAL TEST!
Miscellaneous
I do not send grades or test
scores by email!
WEB SITE
On my web site: Class Notes, Practice Exams, Exam Reviews and Economic Links.
The practice exams are never guaranteed to be 100% accurate, errors can happen using computers. Use these at your own risk. All practice exams labeled "A" are exams I have given before, and will be fairly close to your exam.
Some of the sections are
password
protected. The passwords will be given out in class as a reward
for
attendance. The passwords will only be valid for maybe 1 day, so
you
should access the information in a timely manner. If you don't
come to
class you will lose the opportunity to gain access.
Course Outline
Life is uncertain, so this schedule is tentative. If changes are necessary, they will be announced during class.
You should read the chapters assigned to each exam. Preferably you should read the material before the lectures and certainly before the exam.
* EXAM DATES WILL BE ANNOUNCED AT LEAST ONE WEEK IN ADVANCE
Chapters: 1, 2, 5, 6 & 7: Midterm I
Chapters: 13, 14, 8 & 9: Midterm II
7/29 OPTIONAL RETAKE EXAMS or TBA
Chapters: 11,
12 & 21: FINAL=
> Thursday 7/30 at 8am
Y Income/GDP
Yp Potential Y/GDP
Yd Disposable Income
C Consumption
I Investment
G Government Spending
X Exports
M Imports
T Taxes
t Tax Rate
S Savings
w Wages
u Unemployment
U Natural Rate of
Unemployment
L Labor
i Interest
Rate
P Price/Price Level
K Capital
m Money Multiplier
mpm Marginal Propensity to Import
mpc Marginal Propensity to Consume
mps Marginal Propensity to Save
Q Quantity
r Reserve Ratio
c Cash/Deposit Ratio
¶ Profit
α Keynesian
Multiplier
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$HAVE A PROFITABLE SEMESTER $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$