OAKTON COMMUNITY COLLEGE
 ECO 202 COURSE SYLLABUS
 Fall 2009

Instructor: Joyce Bremer
Email Address: jbremer@oakton.edu
Phone: (847) 537-4385 (between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m.)
Fax:  (847) 635-1987

Office Hours: Mon.-Thurs. 9:00-10:00 a.m. (Online)
                     On Campus (Des Plaines) by Appointment
Note: Please contact me via e-mail or telephone any time you have any questions, suggestions, or comments.

You may call me at home between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. at 847-537-4385.

I.

Course Prefix

Course Number

Course Name

Credit 

Lecture 

Lab

ECO 

202 

Principles of Microeconomics

3

3

0

II. Prerequisite:   None

III. Course Description:

 Course introduces microeconomics, concentrating on the basic price theory of the firm; focus is on operation of supply, demand, cost and revenue functions in perfectly and imperfectly competitive markets; analysis of markets for both products and factors; examination of theory and practice of International trade and finance problems. Extensive use of graphical analysis.

IV. Learning Objectives:

  1. The student will learn the basic framework of decision-making and optimization theory.
  2. The student will apply this theory to analyze the interaction of goals attainable under specific market environments and develop decision rules to attain these goals.
  3. The student will achieve the ability to utilize graphical and simple algebraic tools as well as oral and written problem analysis.
  4. Within the decision-making framework, a student will become well grounded in the specific conditions which exist for classification of perfect and imperfect sellers markets as well as their counterparts in input or factor markets. The student will be able to analyze the role of the firm as decision-maker in these varied environments. An understanding of partial and general equilibrium concepts will also be achieved.
  5. In addition, a basic understanding of international economic concepts such as comparative advantage, terms of trade, balance of payments and the advantages of fixed or floating exchange rates will be attained.
  6. In addition to the above objectives, this course will help students develop the following General Education Competencies that have been established by the College:
              1.  Define Problems
              2.  Construct Hypotheses
              3.  Gather, analyze, and interpret data and information
              4.  Differentiate between fact and opinion
              5.  Communicate effectively in writing

 

V. Academic Integrity:

 Students and employees at Oakton Community College are required to demonstrate academic integrity and follow Oakton’s Code of Academic Conduct. This code prohibits:

  • cheating,
  • plagiarism (turning in work not written by you, or lacking proper citation),
  • falsification and fabrication (lying or distorting the truth),
  • helping others to cheat,
  • unauthorized changes on official documents,
  • pretending to be someone else or having someone else pretend to be you,
  • making or accepting bribes, special favors, or threats, and
  • any other behavior that violates academic integrity.

There are serious consequences to violations of the academic integrity policy. Oakton’s policies and procedures provide students a fair hearing if a complaint is made against you. If you are found to have violated the policy, the minimum penalty is failure on the assignment and, a disciplinary record will be established and kept on file in the office of the Vice President for Student Affairs for a period of 3 years.
Details of the Code of Academic Conduct can be found in the Student Handbook.

 

VI. Outline of Topics:

Week 

Topic 

Assignment

1
(9/8-9/13) 

Introduction;
Supply and Demand;
Marginal Utility & Consumer Demand
(Concentrate on Chapter 3; you will not be tested on chapters 1 and 2)

  (Review Chapters 1 & 2) Chapter 3; Chapter 7
Post a Response to the Bio and Intro Course Quiz Discussion Forums
and
Post a Response to Week 1 Discussion Forum

2
(9/14-9/20)

Elasticity
Applications of Supply & Demand
(price ceilings and price floors; excise taxes; social benefits and costs)

Chapter 6
Chapter 17 pp. 339-341
Post a Response to the Discussion Forum

(September 20 - noon - Last day to withdraw and have course dropped from record; Last day to change to Audit)

3
(9/21-9/27)

Exam 1

 

Exam 1 Due no later than midnight Sunday 9/27

4
(9/28-10/4)

Production and Costs

Chapter 8
Post a Response to the Discussion Forum
(10/4 – Incomplete (I) grades from Summer 2009 semester for which faculty have not submitted final grades will become an "F" after 10/4)

5
(10/5 -10/11)

Production and Costs (concluded)
and Pure Competition

Chapter 9
Post a Response to the Discussion Forum

(October 9 – Last day for filing Graduation Petitions - noon)

6
(10/12-10/18)

Pure Competition (concluded)

Chapter 9 (concluded)
Post a Response to the Discussion Forum
(October 18 – Last day to withdraw with a W. Students will receive a grade in all courses in which they are enrolled after October 18.)

7
(10/19-10/25)

Exam 2

Exam 2 Due no later than midnight Sunday 10/25

8
(10/26-11/1)

Pure Monopoly

Chapter 10
Post a Response to the Discussion Forum

9
(11/2-11/8)

Project (Paper) 1

Project 1 Due no later than midnight Sunday 11/8

10
(11/9-11/15)

Monopolistic Competition, Oligopoly and Antitrust Policies

Chapters 11 & 18 (especially pp. 350-361)
Post a Response to the Discussion Forum (November 11 – Veterans' Day holiday, College closed)

11
(11/16-11/22)

The Global Economy

Chapters 23 & 24
Post a Response to the Discussion Forum
 

12
(11/23-11/29)

The Global Economy (concluded)

Chapters 23 & 24
Post a Response to the Discussion Forum

(November 26, 27 – Thanksgiving Recess, College closed
November 28, 29 – Thanksgiving Recess, no classes, College open, most offices closed)

13
(11/30-12/6)

Project (Paper) 2

Project Due no later than midnight Sunday 12/6

14
(12/7-12/13)

Economic Resources
Wages, Labor Problems & Unions

Chapters 13 & 14
Post a Response to the Discussion Forum

15
(12/14-12/16)

EXAM 3

Exam 3 Due no later than midnight Wednesday12/16

 VII.  Methods of Instruction
             Read Assigned Material
             Online Mini-Lectures
             Online Discussion

VIII.  Course Practice Required
         A. Read and understand course material to include charts and graphs.
         B. Writing clearly and correctly at a college level.
         C. Participation in online discussion.
         D. Mathematics at the high school algebra level, solving linear equations.
         E. Graphic analysis.

IX. Instructional Materials

Required Textbook:  Campbell McConnell, Stanley Brue, and Sean Flynn, Microeconomics, 18th edition, McGraw-Hill, 2008.

(Purchase of a new text is required in order to obtain the access code for the publisher’s online web site. However, I do not assign work from this web site. It is a source of additional assistance for understanding microeconomics. Thus, you may also use either the 16th edition or the 17th edition of the text if you can obtain a copy of one of those editions. Both of these editions are authored by McConnell and Brue only. If you use the 16th edition, please contact me and I will send you the revised reading chapter assignments.)

 

X.  Methods of Evaluating Student Progress

Exam 1
(Multiple Choice and Essay/Problems)

75 points

Exam 2
(Multiple Choice and Essay/Problems)

75 points

Exam 3
(Multiple Choice and Essay/Problems)

75 points

Project 1 

75 points

Project 2

75 points

Discussion 

66 points

Total Semester Points 

441 points

 F. Grading Scale used in this class:

Total Semester Points 

 Grade

 397-441

 A

  353-396

 B

  309-352

 C

  265-308

 D

0-264

F

XI. Other Course Information

Submitting Work

Exams: The exams will be available online and must be submitted (via the WebCT e-mail)  in one file (preferably as an attachment written in Word) during the week indicated on the Outline of Topics.  If an exam is submitted after the last day of the week, the grade will be reduced 5 points for each day it is late. (e.g., If the exam is 2 days late, 10 points will be deducted from the grade.)

Projects: Both projects (papers) should be e-mailed to me (via the WebCT e-mail), preferably as an attachment written in Word, during the week in which they are assigned. They must be submitted no later than the last day designated in the Outline of Topics. Projects will be evaluated on both content and format, and you will be evaluated on your success at addressing all the pertinent issues in a succinct, well-written format. If a project is submitted late, the grade will be reduced 5 points for each day it is late. (e.g., If the project is 3 days late, 15 points will be deducted from the grade.)

Online Discussion Participation

Your online participation will be evaluated on a quantity and quality basis. Your comments should advance the discussion, add value and be relevant. Comments such as "I agree" and "ditto" are not considered value-added participation. Therefore, when you agree or disagree with a comment, please state and support your agreement or disagreement. Complete sentences, correct grammar, punctuation and spelling should be used in all your postings.

You are required to post at least 2 substantive postings per week. I will update discussion points on Monday mornings.

 

Initial postings must be made by midnight Friday of the assigned week. Initial postings made after midnight Friday of the assigned week will not earn credit.

Responses to classmates' postings must be made by midnight Sunday of the assigned week. Any reply postings made after Sunday of the assigned week will not earn credit.

Discussion forums will be available after the assigned posting week, but any postings made after that week will not earn credit. I encourage you to post messages about how the course material relates to your own experience.

Discussions will be "threaded" and asynchronous. Each week's discussion is worth a maximum of 6 points (4 points for your original response; 2 points for your reply to a classmate's posting). No credit will be received for postings made after the end of the assigned week.  

Policies and Expectations

E-Mail Check and Response Policy

I plan to check my e-mail for this course at least once a day. If you email me before 3:00 p.m. on weekdays, I will try to answer the same day. If it's after 3:00 p.m. do not expect a response until the next day. I may respond sooner, but I cannot guarantee it. When you send e-mail, please use the WebCT e-mail. If you use my Oakton e-mail account, please put the title of this course (Econ 201) and the topic you are writing about in the "Subject" line and include your name somewhere in the e-mail.

Student Commitment

You should budget adequate time each week for reading all material and completing all assignments. You will be responsible for keeping up to date with all lessons and assignments and participating in the discussions. Online courses take as much, if not more, time to complete successfully as traditional courses so please plan accordingly.

You are solely responsible for the preparation and presentation of your assignments. Each homework assignment, written activity, and test should be your own work. When working collaboratively, it is acceptable to ask for criticism and help, but such input should be limited and acknowledged when appropriate.

Instructor Commitment

As your instructor, I will follow the course outline as detailed in this syllabus. If any changes are required, I will announce them well in advance to give you time to adjust. You can count on my availability during office hours, and you have the right to expect prompt responses to your questions, comments, and requests. I will grade your work in a timely manner and return it to you with constructive commentary. In this distance-learning course, you will receive the same attention and care you would find in a traditional class.

If you have a documented learning, psychological, or physical disability, you may be entitled to reasonable academic accommodations or services. To request accommodations or services, contact the ASSIST office in Instructional Support Services. All students are expected to fulfill essential course requirements. The
College will not waive any essential skills or requirements of a course or degree Program.
 

Academic Calendar - Fall 2009 Link Here