COLLIN COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT

 

DIVISION OF BUSINESS, INFORMATION AND ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGIES

 

COURSE SYLLABUS

 

Spring Semester 2009

 

COURSE NUMBER:           ECON 2302            SECTIONS:          S06, S07, and S08

 

COURSE TITLE: PRINCIPLES OF MICROECONOMICS

 

CREDIT HOURS:  3            LECTURE HOURS:  3                        LAB HOURS:  0

 

COURSE DELIVERY METHOD:     Lecture/Demonstration

 

INFORMATION ON THE INSTRUCTOR:

                Professor:                              Mike Cohick, Ph.D.

                Office:                                    Spring Creek Campus J104

                Office Hours:                        MW 10.00 – 1.00, or by appointment

                Office Phone:                        972-881-5840

                E-mail:                                    mcohick@ccccd.edu

Web site:                               http://iws.ccccd.edu, scroll down and click my name

                Emergency only:                  Department office phone 972-377-1731

 

CLASS INFORMATION:

                Class meets:                          S06: TR 8.30 – 9.45 in SCC J209

                                                                S07: TR 10.00 – 11.15 in SCC J209

                                                                S08: TR 11.30 – 12.45 in SCC J209                                                    

 

TEXTBOOK:                       Arnold, Economics, 8th Edition (please bring the chapters under discussion to class)

 

PREREQUISITES:              None. If you can competently compose English sentences and do basic algebra, you should have no problem taking this course.

 

SUPPLIES:                           You will need a Scantron and a pencil for the exams.

 

COURSE LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

When you successfully complete this course, you should be able to:

1. Describe the importance of scarcity to economic decision making.

2. Identify the opportunity cost encountered in any decision.

3. Demonstrate the economic concepts of scarcity, trade-offs, efficiency, unemployment, and economic growth, using a production possibilities frontier model.

4. Interpret how changes in demand behavior and/or supply behavior affect prices and quantity in a market.

5. Justify how efficient market activity maximizes overall social well-being.

6. Demonstrate inefficiencies that develop in a market when government imposes any type of price control.

7. Identify the characteristics of goods that determine that good’s elasticity of demand.

8. Explain the importance of elasticity of demand in a firm’s pricing decisions.

9. Summarize the law of diminishing marginal utility, and describe the process one uses to arrive at consumer equilibrium.

10. Contrast accounting profit, economic profit, and normal profit.

11. Generate a model of the production cost curves in the short run and long run.

12. Analyze the reasons that lead to economies of scale and diseconomies of scale.

13. Outline the decision-making rules that lead to profit maximization or loss minimization.

14. Outline the decision-making rules that lead a firm to expand operations, to continue current operations, to cut back operations, or to close down in the short run.

15. Compare and contrast the characteristics of the four market structures.

16. Explain how a natural monopoly comes into existence and how it is operated.

17. Outline government approaches to mergers and monopolizing behavior.

18. Outline the decision-making rules that a profit-maximizing firm would use when hiring labor.

19. Describe reasons for income inequality.

20. Define interest and explain what determines its level.

21. Contrast positive and negative externalities and devise a government program to respond to each.

22. Describe what must be done to provide society adequate amounts of a public good.

23. Explain the importance of comparative advantage and give examples.

24. Compare and contrast who benefits and who loses in free international trade and in protected international trade.

25. Contrast a flexible foreign exchange rate system with a fixed exchange rate system.

 

METHOD OF EVALUATION:

 

1. There are weekly quizzes each Tuesday (except during an exam week and the Tuesday after Spring break). I will count the best ten weekly quizzes at 10+ points each, totals 100+ points.

2. There are two exams, one at mid-term and one at the end-of-term, primarily true-false and multiple choice, worth 100+ points each.

3. There is a required paper, worth 100 points.

4. Total points 400+. Divisor will be 400.

5. With no curve, you need 360 points for an A; 320 for a B, 280 for a C; and 240 for a D.

 

                EXAMS:

 

1. Each exam contains 40+ questions, each worth 2.5 points. Exam dates are listed below but could change. Any changes will be announced in class.

2. Missed exam: If you miss the mid-term exam for any reason, contact me immediately by phone or e-mail. You must make up this exam in my office during the exam week, or you will receive a zero. There is no provision for you to make up a missed the end-of-term exam. Miss it and you will receive a zero.

 

                WEEKLY QUIZZES:

 

1.        There is a 5+ question multiple choice quiz at the start of each Tuesday class (except as indicated above), valued at 2 points per question, covering material presented in class since the previous quiz. 

2.        You must complete the quiz no later than 10 minutes past the start time of class. If you arrive after 10 minutes has elapsed, you may not take the quiz.

3.        There are no makeup opportunities for any of the quizzes for any reason.

 

REQUIRED PAPER:

 

A hand out describing the subject, details and grading will be distributed in class. Copying Internet sources will earn you a zero. Paper is due Thursday, April 30.

 

 

 

ATTENDANCE POLICY:

  1. If you are going to have a problem coming to class on time, please reconsider taking this class at this time.
  2. I expect you to attend every class, to arrive on time, and to participate in class activities. You are responsible for all work assigned and all material covered in class.
  3. Multiple absences, leaving class early without prior permission, and/or tardiness tell me that you DON’T CARE what grade you receive in the course. Therefore, I will not include you when I create a curve to determine letter grades.
  4. Religious Holy Days:  please refer to the current Collin Student Handbook

 

ELECTRONIC DEVICE POLICY:

Close down, silence and put away all electronic gadgets - cell phones, laptop computers, music players, texting devices, pagers, and the like – when you enter the classroom. You do not need any of these devices to participate in my class. Immediately and quietly go outside the classroom if your cell phone/pager buzzes you. You may not use your cell phone as a calculator.

 

COURSE WITHDRAWAL POLICY:

All who are officially enrolled after April 17 (the last day to drop) will receive a letter grade based on the grading scale above. If you want to withdraw with a “W”, do it before April 17.

 

GENERIC SYLLABUS:

You can get a copy of the generic syllabus at the division office or at this web site: http://iws.ccccd.edu/syllabus

 

AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT STATEMENT:

It is the policy of Collin County Community College to provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals who are students with disabilities. This College will adhere to all applicable federal, State and local laws, regulations and guidelines with respect to providing reasonable accommodations as required to afford equal educational opportunity. It is the student’s responsibility to contact the ACCESS office, SCC-G200 or 972.881.5950 (V/TTD: 972.881.5950) in a timely manner to arrange for appropriate accommodations.

 

ACADEMIC ETHICS:

The College District may initiate disciplinary proceedings against a student accused of scholastic dishonesty. Scholastic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, statements, acts, or omissions related to applications for enrollment or the award of a degree, and/or the submission as one’s own work material that is not one’s own. Scholastic dishonesty may involve, but is not limited to, one or more of the following acts: cheating, plagiarism, collusion, use of annotated texts or teacher’s editions, and/or falsifying academic records.

Plagiarism is the use of an author’s words or ideas as if they were one’s own without giving credit to the source, including, but not limited to, failure to acknowledge a direct quotation.

Cheating is the willful giving or receiving of information in an unauthorized manner during an examination, illicitly obtaining examination questions in advance, copying computer or Internet files, using someone else’s work for assignments as if it were one’s own, or any other dishonest means of attempting to fulfill the requirements of a course.

Collusion is intentionally aiding or attempting to aid another in an act of scholastic dishonesty, including but not limited to, providing a paper or project to another student; providing an inappropriate level of assistance; communicating answers to a classmate during an examination; removing tests or answer sheets from a test site, and allowing a classmate to copy answers.

Any incident of academic dishonesty will be reported immediately to the Division Dean and to the Dean of Students for adjudication. Until adjudication is complete, you will receive a “zero” on the work in question.


 

CLASS SCHEDULE

      (subject to change)

 

ECON 2302

 

WEEK

DATES

ACTIVITIES/ASSIGNMENTS

1

Jan 20

Jan 22

First class; Part 1: Read Chapters 1 and 2

Part 1

2

Jan 27

Jan 29

Quiz; followed by Part 1

Part 2; Read Chapters 3 and 4

3

Feb 3

Feb 5

Quiz; followed by Part 2

Part 2;

4

Feb 10

Feb 12

Quiz; followed by Part 2

Part 3: Read Chapters 17 and 18

5

Feb 17

Feb19

Quiz; followed by Part 3

Part 3

6

Feb 24

Feb 26

Quiz; followed by Part 4: Read Chapter 19

Part 4

7

Mar 3

Mar 5

Quiz; followed by Part 4

Part 4; review

8

Mar 10

Mar 12

MID-TERM EXAM, covers Parts 1 through 4

Catch Up Day

 

Mar 17

Mar 19

Spring Break

Spring Break

9

Mar 24

Mar 26

No quiz; Part 5: Read Chapters 20 through 23

Part 5

10

Mar 31

Apr 2

Quiz; Part 5

Part 5

11

Apr 7

Apr 9

Quiz; followed by Part 6: Read Chapters 24 through 27

Part 6

12

Apr 14

Apr 16

Apr 17

Quiz; followed by Part 6

Part 7: Read Chapters 28 and 29

Last Day to Withdraw with a W

13

Apr 21

Apr 23

Quiz; followed by Part 7

Part 7

14

Apr 28

Apr 30

Quiz; followed by Part 8; Read Chapters 30 through 32

Part 8; Semester Paper due

15

May 5

May 7

Quiz; followed by Part 8

Discuss Semester Paper; Review

     16

May 12 or

May 14

END-OF-TERM EXAM, covers Parts 5 through 8.

See final exam schedule for time and date.