Course Syllabus Econ 1 Principles of Microeconomics (Online) Fall 2016, Los Angeles Valley College Professor: Tyler Prante, Ph.D. Office: CC 218; Phone: 818-947-2614; email: prantet@lavc.edu (you can also contact me by using the Private Message feature on etudes) Office hours: By Appointment. Required Text: Mankiw, N. Gregory. Principles of Microeconomics. 7 th edition. Cengage Learning. 2015. ISBN: 9781305135444 Course Description: This course provides an introduction to microeconomics. Throughout the course, there is a focus on how individuals make decisions when confronted with limited resources. Topics include: markets, supply and demand, elasticity, measures of cost and production, profit maximization and alternative market structures. Course Objectives: This course will provide you with the basic economic literacy to be informed citizens in today s world. At the end of the course, you will have a set of tools with which you will be able to understand, interpret, and analyze microeconomic issues and problems that you encounter. Additional course objectives are: a. Define the terms and phrases unique to Economics. b. State and graph the principles or relationships explored in the course, i.e., production possibilities curve, demand, marginal cost, marginal revenue product. c. Predict changes in equilibrium price and quantity as determinants of supply and demand change. d. Evaluate the performance of a firm. e. Evaluate the economic efficiency of both hypothetical and actual situations. Course Level Student Learning Outcome: Apply basic economic principles to individual and business decision making. Course Grading: Your grade for the class will be determined by your performance on the assignments listed below. See the section on due dates listed below for information about when each assignment is due. Late assignments are not accepted so plan ahead! 1. Sapling Learning Homework Assignments: These are problem sets that you will complete after reading each assigned chapter. These assignments are associated with the publisher of the textbook and will be completed online through the Sapling Learning website. There is one assignment for each of the 10 chapters we will cover throughout the term. On these assignments, you will encounter a variety of different types of problems,
including questions with calculations, graphical problems, and conceptual problems. These assignments are untimed and are intended as a resource to help students learn the material rather than as an assessment tool. Each homework assignment is worth 20 points. Each student s lowest score on a homework assignment is dropped. You must purchase an access code from Sapling Learning in order to complete these assignments. A detailed description of how to sign up for Sapling Learning assignments is included in the Getting Started module found in the etudes site. 2. End of Chapter Quizzes: At the conclusion of each assigned chapter, there is a 30 question quiz. Each quiz is worth 30 points. The quizzes will feature multiple choice and true or false questions. Students will take the end of chapter quizzes online through the etudes site. Each student s lowest score on an end of chapter quiz is dropped. 3. Discussion: Throughout the course, I will post topics to our discussion board. Often, students will be asked to read an article, view a clip from a news program, or view a film and then respond critically. Students can earn points by responding to these posts and responding to classmates posts. There are 30 points possible for these assignments. The number of discussion posts will vary from semester to semester. To earn maximum points, posts should be wellarticulated and incorporate appropriate economic ideas. All posts should be respectful and consistent with a positive learning environment. 4. Midterm Exams: There will be two midterm exams throughout the term. The midterm exams will be made up primarily of multiple-choice questions but will also potentially include true or false and short answer questions. The midterm exams will feature approximately 60 questions and will be worth 100 points each. Students will take the midterm exams online through the etudes site. The midterm exams are timed, so students will need to have mastered the material prior to taking the exam. 5. Final Exam: At the conclusion of the course, there is a final exam worth 100 points. The final is cumulative and will draw from the material covered throughout the class. Like the midterm exams, the final exam will feature some combination of multiple choice, true or false, and short answer questions. Students will take the final exam online through the etudes site. As with the midterms, the final exam is timed.
The table below summarizes the possible points for the course: Assignment Sapling Learning Homework Assignments (20 points each, best 9 of 10 used for grades) End of Chapter Quizzes (30 points each, best 9 of 10 used for grades) Possible Points 180 270 Responses on the Discussion Board 30 Midterm Exams (100 points each, 2 in total) 200 Final Exam 100 Total Possible Points 780 Grading Scale Fractionalized grading (+/-) will not be used. Class grades will be determined by the final distribution of total points for the class. However, a 90% score or above of the total possible class points will be a sufficient but not necessary condition for an A grade; a 80% score or above of the total possible class points will be a sufficient but not necessary condition for a B grade; a 70% score or above of the total possible class points will be a sufficient but not necessary condition for a C grade; a 60% score or above of the total possible class points will be a sufficient but not necessary condition for a D grade. Course Outline and Due Dates: Given that this is an online class, each student will have some flexibility in terms of how quickly to progress through the material. However, to make sure that the discussion posts can sufficiently connect to the material, deadlines exist for completing various parts of the course. The course is divided into two units: Unit I: Chapter 1: Ten Principles of Economics Chapter 2: Thinking Like an Economist Chapter 4: The Market Forces of Supply and Demand Chapter 5: Elasticity and its Application Chapter 6: Supply, Demand, and Government Policies Unit II: Chapter 13: The Costs of Production Chapter 14: Firms in Competitive Markets
Chapter 15: Monopoly Chapter 16: Monopolistic Competition Chapter 17: Oligopoly The table below summarizes the due dates associated with each assignment. Week Chapter Class Intro Practice quiz Sapling Assignment Due: End of Chapter Quiz due: Midterm 1: Chps. 1,2,4-6 Midterm 2: Chps. 13-17 1 1 9/2/16 9/2/16 2 1 9/6/16 9/9/16 3 2 9/13/16 9/16/16 4 4 9/23/16 None 5 4 None 9/30/16 6 5 10/4/16 10/7/16 7 6 10/11/16 10/14/16 8 1,2,4-6 None None 10/21/16 9 13 10/25/16 10/28/16 10 14 11/4/16 None 11 14 None 11/11/16 12 15 11/15/16 11/18/16 13 16 11/22/16 11/25/16 14 17 11/29/16 12/2/16 15 13-17 None None 12/9/16 Finals Week Final Exam: Chps. 1,2,4-6,13-17 12/16/16 Unless otherwise specified, each assignment is due at 11:55 p.m. on the specified date. Late assignments are not accepted. In addition to the assignments listed in the table above, discussion posts will be due periodically throughout the term. Specific due dates for discussion posts will be announced during the term. Expectations and Class Conduct: A calculator will be helpful for exams and quizzes. A basic model will suffice. Students will need to have access to a computer with a reliable internet connection. If you are a student with a disability and require classroom accommodations, and have not contacted the Services for Students with Disabilities Office (SSD), do so in a timely manner. SSD is located in the Student Services Annex, Room 175 or call SSD at (818) 947-2681 or TTD (818) 947-2680, to meet with an SSD counselor. If SSD has already
sent the memo to instructor confirming accommodations required by the student for this class, please meet with me to discuss arrangements. Cheating and plagiarism is not allowed. If a student is caught cheating, school rules will be enforced.