Economics 202 Principles of Macroeconomics
3 Credit Hours
Summer 2012, Internet Delivery
South Dakota State University
Instructor and Contact Information
George Langelett Ph.D.
Office: 110 Scobey Hall
Office Phone: (605) 688-4865
Instructional Methods
The primary method for instruction will be through Desire2Learn. PowerPoint slides, chat sessions, chapter quizzes, exams and discussion questions are available in Desire2Learn.
You may use to contact me. Currently, the Desire2Learn internal email system is not fully functional at this time. I check my regular email address, at least once a day Monday through Friday, and will normally get back to you within 48 hours. Do not email may me from your D2L account, D2L email does not receive any emails from outside the D2L system.
Office Hours
If you have any questions or comments, you may email me and set up an appointment with me. We can have a private conversation in a chat room in the Desire2Learn.
Time Zone
US Central Time
Course Description
Principles of Macroeconomics considers the economy as a whole, how its sectors interact, and how monetary and fiscal policy can influence output, inflation, interest rates, unemployment, poverty, and other factors.
Course Prerequisites
MATH-102, MATH-115, MATH-120, MATH-121, MATH-123, MATH-125, OR MATH-281
You also need a PowerPoint reader, QuickTime, Java. If you do not have them, please download them from http://learn.sdstate.edu/online/require.htm.
Required Texts and Supplements
Brief Principles of Macroeconomics, 5th Edition, N. Gregory Mankiw, ISBN: 0324590377 or
Brief Principles of Macroeconomics, 4th Edition, N. Gregory Mankiw, ISBN: 0324813945,
available at the SDSU bookstore (http://www.sdstatebookstore.com).
Free Tutoring Available to SDSU Students
For more information, call Deb at 688-4155.
Courses Requirements and Evaluation Procedures
Your grade for the course will be based on chapter quizzes, exams and discussion.
Chapter Quizzes
There will be fourteen chapter quizzes, three quizzes per test starting June 9th. The chapter quiz each week will be available from the beginning of the semester until 11:00 P.M. on the due date (this means the quiz must be completed and submitted by 11:00 P.M. on the due date). You can change your answers as many times as you like before the due date has passed (be sure to click Save answer). After you finish all questions, be sure to click Finish at the bottom of the page to submit your quiz. You are allowed to have three attempts for each chapter quiz. Each time the computer will randomly generate a similar quiz from the test bank. I use your highest score for your grade. Technical problems and other circumstances will sometimes arise that prevent you from completing an online quiz. If you miss a due date, you will receive a zero for that particular quiz without exception. To soften the impact of unforeseen contingencies, you are allowed to “skip” any two chapter quizzes without penalty. I will simply drop them when calculating your grade. If you complete all quizzes (so that you have no zeros to skip), I will drop your two lowest scores at the end of the semester. These “skips” are intended to be used to cover any and all circumstances that prevent you from completing a quiz on time (computers crash, power lines blow down, viruses, etc). Each quiz will count for 3% of the course grade -- so 36% of the course grade is based on the quizzes.
Exams
There will be five exams. They are generated from the same test bank as chapter quizzes and have the same format. Technical problems and other circumstances will sometimes arise that prevent you from taking an online exam. If you miss an exam, you will receive a zero for that particular exam without exception. To soften the impact of unforeseen contingencies, you are allowed to “skip” one exam without penalty; I will simply drop it when calculating your grade. If you take all exams, I will drop your lowest test score at the end of the semester. This drop is intended to be used to cover any and all circumstances that prevent you from taking an online exam. Each exam will count for 11% of the course grade -- so 44% of the course grade is based on the exams.
Discussion
Click on the Discuss Tab. Your weekly discussion involves:
1. I have posted discussion questions under the Discuss Tab. Read each chapter and discuss your thoughts under discussion topics of interest.
2. Read the blog of Prof. Mankiw, the textbook author and the former Chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisers, at http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/. Raise and discuss any questions or issues that interest you.
3. You may also discuss any class-relevant topics. For instance, if you have questions about a concept or a theory, you can post a message in the chapter discussion area, and other classmates can respond. I firmly believe that the best way to learn a new skill is to teach it to others.
4. There are two forums entitled “Course Issues” and “Economic Questions”. If no one answers your question, post your question in these forums, and I will respond to your question.
Please note:
1. Not only respond to my questions, but carry on a dialogue with your classmates as well. This is a discussion, not just a question-and-answer session. It is one of the items that make a good online course and establishes community. If you only respond to my questions, it makes our discussion more of an "exam" rather than a dialogue.
2. Some of my questions may seem to be not discussable in the sense that intuitively there seems to be only one answer. Please note that it is essential to learn economics terminology in our class. In other words, it is critical to learn how to use economics terminology to describe and analyze issues. Some answers may have right intuition, but use wrong or imprecision economics terminology. In such cases, you can point out the errors and contribute to the discussion.
3. When you reply to a post, do not just say "I agree" or “I disagree”. Explain why you agree or disagree.
4. Before each test, two posts is the bare minimum. You need to answer my questions, and have at least one more post (discuss any interesting issues you read from Mankiw’s blog or the textbook, or comment on other students’ posts). More is expected for a good discussion grade. Late posts do not count. You should also plan on posting on more than one or even two days in order to allow yourself to stay involved with the class.
Weekly discussion will make up 20% of the course grade in all. I will use the following guidelines for grading your discussion.
1. For an "A" : a weekly discussion grade of "A" will require you to have all your postings completed by the deadlines, demonstrate excellent knowledge and understanding of the week's readings, responses and questions for your classmates, and at least four quality postings before each test (not each chapter quiz).
2. For a "B": a weekly discussion grade of "B" will require you to have all your postings completed by the deadlines, demonstrate good knowledge and understanding of the week’s readings, responses and questions for your classmates, and three good postings before each test, spread out over the entire session.
3. For a "C": a weekly discussion grade of "C" will require you to have your postings completed by the deadlines, demonstrate average knowledge and understanding of the week's assignments, responses and questions for your classmates, and two good postings before each test.
4. For a "D": a weekly discussion grade of "D" will require you to have one or two posts demonstrating some knowledge of the week's assignments and responses and questions for your classmates.
5. For a "F": simply do nothing or offer only postings that are strictly your opinion without any support from the class materials. Rudeness to your classmates also results in failure.
Grade policy
In accordance with the 2010-2011 South Dakota State University General Catalog for undergraduate programs, the following grade policy applies to this course.
Letter Grade / Description / PerformanceA / Exceptional / 90% and above
B / Above Average / 80%-89%
C / Average / 70% – 79%
D / Lowest passing / 60% – 69%
F / Failure / Below 60%
Get Started
1. Go to Desire2Learn entry page at d2l.sdbor.edu. There is a blue menu bar at the top. Click Check Browser to make sure your browser will run Desire2Learn.
2. If you need assistance to login, click Student Login Assistance.
3. If you have not used Desire2Learn before, I recommend you to take a tour of Desire2Learn by clicking Self-Register for Student Desire2Learn 101 in the section headed by Training. You may have to enable pop ups. We suggest you add this site as a trusted site: if popup blocked notification appears, right click pale yellow bar, select Always allow pop-ups for this site, Yes, and Close.
4. SDSU Support Desk Phone Number: (605) 688-6776. Email: .
Features of Online Econ 202
1. Course homepage will link you to the various course materials and tools.
2. Course Content. Course material is organized by chapters. You can access each chapter from the Course Content page. The chapter page will include links to PowerPoint notes, Videos, Practice problems and solutions, and Advanced Critical Thinking problems for that chapter.
3. Communicate.
1) Discuss Tab. In a sense the discussion area is the classroom for an online course. This is where you will answer the weekly discussion questions.
2) Chat Tab. Students may want to meet for study groups in the chat room. The best way to do this is usually for a student to announce in the discussion area that he/she will be in the chat room at a particular day and time and would like to discuss a particular topic. You may post your message in the Main area or in your group discussion area. If you post your message in your group discussion area, the students in other groups may not see and respond to your message.
4. Calendar will indicate start dates for each chapter, quiz dates and exam dates.
5. Quizzes. This is where you can find chapter quizzes and exams.
6. Grades will show your scores on discussion, quizzes and exams.
7. A typical week will be:
Monday – Wednesday: You study the assigned chapter. To better understand the chapter, you may go over the PowerPoint notes, watch the Videos, and do the Practice problems. If you have any questions, please post a message in the Ask the Instructor area.
Wednesday – Sunday: You interact with your group members on the discussion questions and complete the quiz. To enrich your understanding, you may go over the Advanced Critical Thinking problems.
Tentative Schedule
Weeks / Readings / Quizzes and Exams / Due Dates7/2 – 7/6 / Chapter 1 / Quiz / 7/9
Chapter 2 / Quiz / 7/9
Chapter 3 / Quiz / 7/9
Four Posts for Week 1 and Exam 1 / 7/11
7/9 –7/13 / Chapter 4 / Quiz / 7/11
Chapter 5 / Quiz / 7/12
Chapter 6 / Quiz / 7/13
Four Posts for Week 2 and Exam 2 / 7/16
7/16 – 7/20 / Chapter 7 / Quiz / 7/18
Chapter 8 / Quiz / 7/19
Chapter 10 / Quiz / 7/20
Four Posts for Week 3 and Exam 3 / 7/23
7/23 – 7/27 / Chapter 11 / Quiz / 7/25
Chapter 12 / Quiz / 7/26
Chapter 15 / Quiz / 7/27
Four Posts for Week 4 and Exam 4 / 7/30
7/30 – 8/3 / Chapter 16 / Quiz / 8/1
Chapter 17 / Quiz / 8/2
Four Posts for Week 5 and Exam 5 / 8/3
ADA Statement
This course acknowledges the importance of ADA requirements. Any student who feels s/he may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact the Coordinator of Disability Services privately to discuss your specific needs. Please contact the Office of Disability Services at (605-688-4504) in to coordinate reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities.
Academic Freedom and Responsibility
Freedom in learning. Students are responsible for learning the content of any course of study in which they are enrolled. Under Board of Regents and University policy, student academic performance shall be evaluated solely on an academic basis and students should be free to take reasoned exception to the data or views offered in any course of study. Students who believe that an academic evaluation is unrelated to academic standards but is related instead to judgment of their personal opinion or conduct should first contact the instructor of the course. If the student remains unsatisfied, the student may contact the department head and/or dean of the college which offers the class to initiate a review of the evaluation.
Academic Honesty Policy
I will not tolerate acts of academic dishonesty. The following actions will not be tolerated. Any evidence found of academic dishonesty will result in an “F” for the semester course grade and will be reported to the appropriate authorities for disposition as directed by the “Policy Governing Academic Integrity” found in the S.D.S.U. Student Policy Manual.
Cheating: An act of deception by which a student misrepresents that he or she has mastered information on an academic enterprise which in fact, she or he has not mastered.
Plagiarism: Taking ownership of one’s work even though the words, ideas or arguments are from another person. No appropriate attribution by quotation, reference or footnote is given to the original person.