TRINITY VALLEY COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Principles of Macroeconomics

ECON 2301

Professor: Linda Gann

Office: Technology Building Office # 326 Athens Campus; Telephone # 903-675-6378

Administration Building Office #121; Telephone #:972-563-4909

Fax: Athens: 903-675-6263; Terrell: 972-563-1667; Terrell will be the primary office during summer sessions.

Textbook and Required Materials

Economics 8^th edition; Arnold, Roger A. Thomson Southwestern Publishing Company, 2008, ISBN-10: 0324538014 (New Edition)

*Textbooks may be purchased at the TVCC Bookstore. The Bookstore will ship books upon request by contacting James Quattlebaum at 903-675-6203.

Course Objectives

This course includes an introduction to economics, macroeconomic fundamentals, macroeconomic stability and instability as well as a study of fiscal policy, money, the economy, and monetary policy, and expectations theory and economic growth.

Course Learning Outcomes

The student will acquire an understanding of the following course learning outcomes:

· An understanding of economic definitions, economic categories, and key concepts

· An understanding of production possibilities frontier, trade, exchange, specialization, economic systems, and property rights

· An understanding of demand, supply, the market, and price controls

· An understanding of supply and demand in practice

· An understanding of macroeconomic measures such as prices and unemployment

· An understanding of Gross Domestic Product including the expenditure approach, income approach, other national income measurements, and real GDP

· An understanding of aggregate demand And aggregate supply

· An understanding of the Classical View, three states of the economy, and self-regulating economy

· An understanding of Keynesian Model

· An understanding of the federal budget and fiscal policy including demand-side and supply-side economic models

· An understanding of money and banking including the money creation process

· An understanding of the Federal Reserve System including the tools for controlling the economy

· An understanding on money and the economy including the relationship to the price level and interest rates and monetarism

· An understanding of monetary policy including its utilization for recessionary and inflationary gaps

· An understanding of the Expectation Theory and the economy including the Phillips, Rational Expectations, and New Classical Theory

· An understanding of economic growth including resources, technology, and New Growth Theory

Course Access on Blackboard Learning System – Log in Instructions

Please note that even in you are familiar with Internet course work, the log in information has changed. The log in and password will now be the same with one minor difference. The log in will be: your last name then your first initial and then the last four numbers of your social security number; all lower case with no spaces. For example: doej1234. You will follow the same procedure to create your password except that you need to use a capital letter to begin your last name (Doej1234).

After you log in for the first time, you will need to create an 8-digit password that conforms to the strong password security requirements. If your password does not meet these requirements, you will receive an error message. Error messages include:

· Please enter a password with at least 8 characters.

· Your password does not meet the strong password requirement. It must include 3 of the following types of characters: Uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and/ or symbols. For example: Pa55w*rd.

You will have to continue to try until you submit an acceptable password.

Should you have any problems with your log in, please contact Karen McGrew at 903-675-6324. If you should have trouble contacting Ms. McGrew (She will be pretty busy with all our distance ed students), please feel free to call me (90-.675-6378 in Athens or 972-563-4909 in Terrell). I am not the expert but I will find one for you.

Orientation

Your orientation to this course will take place on line and will be a simple questionnaire to reinforce what you have read in this syllabus. You will be asked to answer the questions, submit an attachment, send an email, etc. This is done to acquaint the students with the format of the course. This questionnaire is not a graded assignment.

Submitting Work and/or Contacting Your Instructor

All work and all communication regarding this course must take place within the Blackboard system. All records including what each student submits along the time and date submitted, are all recorded electronically. Email communication with attachments, course wide announcements, etc. will all travel through the Blackboard system.

Instructional Methods

This course is offered as an integrated program of independent study. The textbook Economics (Arnold) is your primary source for successful completion of this course. The chapters include analysis questions, self-tests, chapter summaries, key terms and concepts, questions and problems, graphs illustrations, exhibits, and Internet activities. These activities are not required for purposes of recorded grades; they are simply designed to help you help yourself. The tests will come from the textbook, Economics (Arnold), therefore your dedication and to reading and comprehending the required chapters is the key to success.

Tests

This course will include five tests. The tests will be based on the material in the textbook, Economics (Rogers). Each test will consist of 50 multiple choice questions. TVCC students will take their tests at the testing center or LRC on the Athens, Palestine, or Terrell Campus. Testing hours at the TVCC testing centers or LRCs are posted on the TVCC homepage. Late tests will be allowed for two weeks past the test date (with the exception of Test 5) with a 10 point penalty. After two weeks, the test grade will be a zero. Each test is worth 100 points and equivalent to approximately 16% of the grade in the class.

Tests will include the following chapters from the textbook:

Test 1 - Chapters 1-4

Test 2 - Chapters 5-6

Test 3 - Chapters 7-10

Test 4 - Chapters 11-14

Test 5 - Chapters 15-16

Assignments

Discussion Questions

Ten discussion questions will be posted to the Blackboard Discussion Board on designated dates. Students will be required to post an answer to the DQ and a response to other student posts for each discussion question. The Discussion Questions are worth 10 points each for a total of 100 points. Discussion Questions will not be accepted late.

Bonus Point Assignments

Students may submit the answers to the chapter questions provided on the course homepage for 3 points bonus points on each test. The answers to the questions can be located in the Economics by Roger Arnold. Students must submit the work as an attachment on Blackboard e-mail on/before the original test deadline to receive 3 points on the test. Bonus assignment work will not be accepted after the on time test due date.

Schedule of Deadlines

To be determined

Tests and assignments should be taken and submitted before the due dates if possible. Tests may be taken at the TVCC testing center or TVCC Learning Resources Center. TVCC testing center and LRC hours are posted on the TVCC homepage. Students have two weeks past the test due date (with the exception of Test 5) to take a late test for a 10 point late deduction. After two weeks, students will be given a zero on the test. Please notice that there is little time for submitting Test 5. This test cannot be submitted after May 6.

Class Grade

The course grade will be determined according to the following calculation: The total of the scores on each of the five tests, plus the accumulative scored on the DQ assignment to be divided by six (number of entries).

A = 90-100, B = 80-89, C = 70-79, D = 60-69, F = Below 60