St. Petersburg College
Social and Behavioral Sciences Department
Syllabus for ECO 2023 – Principles of Microeconomics – Summer, 2017
Last update:May 11, 2017
Instructor:J. Scott Gustafson, Adjunct Faculty
Class # 934TuThMW 10:30 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.
Location:SE TL124
E-mail: Please use email inside MyCourses
Web Page:
Scott's Economics Bookmarks:
Academic Program:Social and Behavioral Sciences
Dean: Dr. Joseph Smiley
Office Location: Tarpon Springs, PS-105, (727) 712-5851
Academic Chair: Dr. Douglas Rivero
Office Location: Seminole, UP 337F, (727) 394-6948
Course Outline:This course is a study involving the theory of the business firm in the market economy. Major emphasis will be placed on the theory of price and output determination under different market situations, as well as consumer demand and behavior in market economies. This course partially satisfies the writing requirements outlined in the General Education Requirements. Credit is not given for both ECO 2023 and ECO 2023H.
Required Text:Foundations of Economics, 7th Edition, by Bade & Parkin
Additional Reading:Business pages of the newspaper (print or on-line) and business news web sites.
About the Book:Note that we're using the seventh edition. If you really want to save money on the book, buy a used older edition on the internet (Either Foundations of Economics or Foundations of Microeconomics.) They go for a few dollars. There are a few changes between the editions, but you'll be able to follow along since the lecture notes I give you are an outline of the seventh edition of the book.
Online Resources:We willNOTbe using the publisher's web site (MyEconLab) for this course. We will be using MyCourses (D2L). The course content is contained in the unit pages. Those pages also include a bunch of resources for you. Log in through mycourses.spcollege.edu (But then again, you already knew that.)
Course Structure:The course is broken up into 5 units. Each unit generally includes 3-4 chapters you need to read in the book, an online quiz for each chapter, some in class exercises, a written assignment and an online exam.
Grading:Your grade will be determined by your performance in four areas, exams, online quizzes, in class exercises and written assignments.
Two types of exams will be offered. The first option is a 30 question multiple choice exam with two short answer questions. The second option is a 10 short answer question exam. Pick one. Alternately, take both and you get the higher grade. Exams will generally be available online for a period of about 4 days. Exams 1-4 will be worth 100 points each. Exam 5 is half as large as the others and worth 50 points. Exams are online, timed and open book and open note.
During Finals Week, a comprehensive final exam will be offered. It replaces your lowest exam grade. If it is your lowest exam grade it gets tossed so you can't get hurt taking the final. Alternately, if you are satisfied with your grade after the fifth exam, you need not take the final.
There is an online quiz for each chapter consisting of 10 multiple choice questions pulled randomly from a larger set of questions. You get five cracks at each quiz. Your highest score is the one that counts. The online quiz for each chapter should be completed prior to the exam covering those chapters. There are 18 online quizzes.
There will be 2-4 in class exercises for each unit 5 points each.
The grading scale will be:
A 90% and above
B 80% to 89.9%
C 70% to 79.9%
D 60% to 69.9%
Failing – below 60%
Attendance: Three times during the semester I will need to inform the college of those who are Actively participating in the course. Week 1 and Week 2 will be determined by Chapter 1 & Chapter 2 quiz completion along with course access. 60% attendance will be determined by completion of quizzes and exams to date.
Active Participation:Active participation is defined in two ways: regular attendance and completing assigned coursework. In terms of regular attendance, active participation is defined as not exceeding two unexcused absences. Active participation is also defined as completing assigned coursework. This includes tests, quizzes, homework, projects and in-class activities. If students have more than two unexcused absences or incomplete coursework, students must contact the instructor to determine an academic plan for successful completion of the course. If students have violated the active participation policy in terms of attendance or completing coursework, and if students have not contacted the instructor to establish a plan for completion of the remaining requirements of the course, then students will be reported as not actively participating in the course, which may result in a grade of WF. If you are in your third attempt at completing a course, you will be given a grade of “WF” at any point you attempt to withdraw or at any point you violate the active participation policy..
Due Dates:My flexibility on due dates is dependent upon who is affected.
Exams have a window that is difficult to adjust just for you.
Assignments just affect you and me. Get them done on time to make it easier on both of us. You can also resubmit an assignment for a better score after the due date (up until the middle of finals week.)
Online quizzes have a due date so that MyCourses will nag you about getting them done. You can take the online quizzes up to 5 times and they don't shut off until the middle of finals week.
Accommodations:If you wish to receive special accommodations as a student with a documented disability, please make an appointment with the Learning Specialist, SS 104, 791-2710. If you have a documented hearing loss, please contact the Program for the Deaf/Hard of Hearing, SS 101, 791-2628 (V/TDD). If you will need assistance during an emergency classroom evacuation, please contact your campus Learning Specialist immediately about arrangements for your safety. The telephone numbers for the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities are 791-2628 or 791-2710.
Office Hours:I will be on Clearwater campus Monday and Wednesday during the summer. You can find after class and we can set something up.
Attendance: Three times during the semester I will need to inform the college of those who are Actively participating in the course. Week 1 and Week 2 will be determined by Chapter 1 & Chapter 2 quiz completion along with course access. 60% attendance will be determined by completion of quizzes and exams to date.
Active Participation:Active participation is defined in two ways: regular attendance and completing assigned coursework. In terms of regular attendance, active participation is defined as not exceeding two unexcused absences. Active participation is also defined as completing assigned coursework. This includes tests, quizzes, homework, projects and in-class activities. If students have more than two unexcused absences or incomplete coursework, students must contact the instructor to determine an academic plan for successful completion of the course. If students have violated the active participation policy in terms of attendance or completing coursework, and if students have not contacted the instructor to establish a plan for completion of the remaining requirements of the course, then students will be reported as not actively participating in the course, which may result in a grade of WF. If you are in your third attempt at completing a course, you will be given a grade of “WF” at any point you attempt to withdraw or at any point you violate the active participation policy..
Due Dates:My flexibility on due dates is dependent upon who is affected.
Exams have a window that is difficult to adjust just for you.
Assignments just affect you and me. Get them done on time to make it easier on both of us. You can also resubmit an assignment for a better score after the due date (up until the middle of finals week.)
Online quizzes have a due date so that MyCourses will nag you about getting them done. You can take the online quizzes up to 5 times and they don't shut off until the middle of finals week.
Accommodations:If you wish to receive special accommodations as a student with a documented disability, please make an appointment with the Learning Specialist, SS 104, 791-2710. If you have a documented hearing loss, please contact the Program for the Deaf/Hard of Hearing, SS 101, 791-2628 (V/TDD). If you will need assistance during an emergency classroom evacuation, please contact your campus Learning Specialist immediately about arrangements for your safety. The telephone numbers for the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities are 791-2628 or 791-2710.
Office Hours:I will be on Seminole campus Tuesday and Thursday during the summer. You can find after class and we can set something up.
Contacting Scott:For email, my preference is that you use the course email via MyCourses. It is self-contained and if you can see that you sent it, then you know that I got it. It also automatically tells me who sent it, when, which class you are in, and there is no spam.
Alternately, you can use my faculty email account. Note that I get a lot of email in my faculty account. I suspect that I'll get e-mail from your campus account, home account and perhaps business account. Hence, to help me sort it out and get you an answer sooner rather than later, include the course and class number in the subject line. Include your name in the first line of the message so I know who I'm conversing with. (It also reduces the questions from my wife about what I've been up to when I start getting e-mail from some of your more creative e-mail addresses.)
Generally when I reply to email, I will "reply to all." That means that if you want to ask a question from one account (example – business e-mail) and receive a reply at another (example – home or campus) then CC: your other account. That way my reply will go to both places. If you don't do this, don't expect it to happen.
Changes:Although I don't anticipate changes, the above may be changed during the semester in order to better meet course objectives.
SYLLABUS ADDENDUM
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