Principles of Microeconomics EC 110 SECTIONS 005 & 006 FALL 2014 Instructor: Harold W. Elder Office: 232 Alston Telephone: 348-8976 Office Hours: Monday, 10:00-11:15 AM; Tuesday 1:30-2:30 PM; other times by appointment. Email: [email protected] UPDATED COURSE INFORMATION WILL ONLY BE PROVIDED VIA THE BLACKBOARD LEARN SITE. IT WILL BE UPDATED AND CORRECTED AS NECESSARY, THE SYLLABUS WILL NOT. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND ON BLACKBOARD LEARN. Note: There is an email option on the BLACKBOARD site but this is not checked regularly. If you need to contact me quickly, you should use the bama email address listed above. Required Materials 1. MINDTAP. This application will be accessed exclusively through Blackboard. It will include the following primary components: a. Textbook: Principles of Microeconomics (7th edition) N. Gregory Mankiw. A hard copy can be purchased through the Supe Store or through the Mindtap website that is linked on Blackboard. b. Online Assignments: Two types of assignments will be on the Mindtap system—end of chapter exercises and homework assignments. Completion of these is a required part of the course. Details are provided below. You can purchase access using the link provided on Blackboard or obtain this through the Supe Store. A hard copy of the text is not required. 2. CLICKER. Turning Technologies RF Response Pad—aka the Clicker. Purchase a Clicker at the Supe Store. These are available for $52 new or about $34 used (and can be sold back at the end of the semester). REGISTRATION INSTRUCTIONS: Log on to the Blackboard Learn for this course and either click link on the course homepage or the Clicker tool on the left menu. It will open up a registration page. Complete the information requested on the page—you will need the Response Device ID from your clicker, which is found on the back of the device. Course Objectives: To learn about the foundations of consumer and producer behavior and to apply economic reasoning to solve problems and aid in making decisions. Develop critical thinking skills. Learning Outcomes Upon Completion of this course, you should be able to: 1. Use supply and demand analysis to understand and predict changes in market prices and outputs. 2. Use cost and revenue information to understand the behavior of firms, including profit maximizing output levels and prices. 3. Understand the tradeoffs between efficiency and equality.Course Requirements and Grade Determination Course Evaluation Tentative Grade Distribution Type of Evaluation Percentage of Final Grade Guaranteed Grade Average Range Course Grade Exams 1, 2 and 3 20% each 90% and Up A Final Exam 20% 80 to 89% B Mindtap Homework 10% 70 to 79% C Mindtap EOC assignments 5% 60 to 69% D In Class Exercises 5% 59% and Down F GRADES - DISTRIBUTION There is no set distribution of grades for this course. My goal is for you to receive the highest grade that you can earn. This should also be your goal. The table above details a guaranteed range, but actual grade ranges are usually flexible downward, which may vary by letter grade. No set scale is followed. It should be noted that the lower bound on D (or D-) grades fall is 50% and above. The +/- grade policy will be used in assigning final course grades. Course grades will be based upon your total points for the semester. Your grade will be determined by your performance on exams, on Mindtap assignments, the in-class exercises, plus any bonus points you receive. - DETERMINANTS Grades are determined by 3 components: 1. Performance on Exams. There will be 3 regular exams and a final exam. Each regular exam and the final will each be 20% of your course grade. 2. Performance on Assignments. The Mindtap Aplia homework is 10% of your course grade and the EOC assignments are worth 5%. 3. Participation in In-Class Exercises will be worth 5%. - GRADE IMPROVEMENT You can also improve your course grade through: 4. Lab Attendance. Attend 10 lab sessions and you can drop your lowest regular test grade (remaining two exam grades will be weighted at the total of 60%). 5. Bonus Points may be obtained by: - Taking Practice tests on Blackboard Learn. Points are based upon your average score on the 3 Practice Exams. This is worth up to a 2% bonus. - Attendance as recorded by the Clicker. This is worth up to a 2% bonus. NO OTHER OPPORTUNITIES FOR EXTRA CREDIT WILL BE AVAILABLE. PLEASE DO NOT ASK. NONE WILL BE OFFERED.BASIC COURSE INFORMATION 1. EXAMS 1. MIDTERM EXAMS. Three midterm exams will be given. All Exams will be given in class on the dates listed in the Course Calendar and will be in Alston 10. 2. FINAL EXAM. Check the course calendar for your final exam date and time. Do not make travel plans without consulting the exam schedule! There is no early administration of the final exam, except as is explained below. TELL YOUR PARENTS NOT TO BOOK A FLIGHT FOR YOU THAT WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO TAKE THE FINAL ON ITS REGULARLY SCHEDULED DATE. A make-up for excused absences for the Final Exam will be administered as prescribed by the University of Alabama Academic Calendar. 3. MAKEUP EXAMS. If you miss an exam, then you must follow the steps listed here: - Contact me via the email address listed here to provide notification of the reasons for your absence from the exam. You must do this prior no later than the day of the next regular class. Otherwise, you will automatically receive a ZERO. - Go to Blackboard and place your name in the Makeup Signup List for the exam you have missed. If you name is not on this list, you will not be permitted to make up this exam. - ALL MAKEUP EXAMS ARE GIVEN ON BLACKBOARD. A DATE, TIME AND LOCATION WILL BE PROVIDED FOR EACH MAKEUP EXAM. If a student misses the administration of his or her makeup exam, this student must take the Comprehensive Makeup Exam. - If a student misses more than one exam, the student must take the COMPREHENSIVE MAKEUP. The weight for these missed exams will be determined strictly upon the score for the COMPREHENSIVE makeup exam. 4. OPTIONAL COMPREHENSIVE MAKEUP EXAM. Students who have taken all three regular exams may take a comprehensive makeup exam. The score on this exam will replace the student’s lowest midterm exam score, if (and only if) the score is higher. The exam will not count if the score is lower than any of the regular exam