Econ Syllabus PDF

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ECON 2105 Principles of Macroeconomics

Dr. Benjamin Ward Fall 2020 University of Georgia, Terry College of Business

TR 5:30-6:45

Course Syllabus THE INFORMATION IN THIS SYLLABUS IS CURRENT AS OF AUGUST 13, 2020. What we are studying: Economics is the study of how people behave in the presence of scarce resources. MACROeconomics, the topic of this course, examines economic issues from the national or global level. MICROeconomics, on the other hand, considers things from the perspective of the individual person or firm. Course description: Explanations of economic growth and the business cycle, aimed at shedding light on economy-wide problems such as inflation and unemployment, with special attention to the role played by monetary and fiscal policies. Course materials Required: MyLab online learning resource. See the separate document “Course handout A: Accessing course materials” for details about purchasing the required MyLab access. We will use this online resource to complete graded assignments and exams throughout the semester. When you register online, use your name according to the UGA registrar and an email account you check regularly. If you are waiting for financial aid to cover the cost of your course materials for the semester, or if you are unsure whether you will remain enrolled in the course, you may get temporary access without payment for 14 days; see “Course handout A” for details. Students will need access to a computer with a reliable high-speed internet connection and speakers or headphones. Students who wish to participate in the course synchronously or visit online office hours must also install Zoom software: https://eits.uga.edu/learning_and_training/zoom/ E-text (i (included ncluded with purchase of the required MyLab access for this course): Macroeconomics by Michael Parkin, 13th Edition. This is the textbook companion to our course. Your required MyLab access comes bundled with an electronic version of this textbook at no additional cost. I highly recommend, but do not require, that you read each chapter before we discuss it in class. Optional physical text: An electronic version of the textbook is included with your required MyLab access at no additional cost (see above). If you would like a physical copy of the textbook in addition to the electronic version, you may separately purchase a physical copy of Macroeconomics by Michael Parkin, 13th Edition. See “Course handout A” for details about a simple and inexpensive way to order a physical textbook directly from the Pearson company. There also exist new and used copies of older editions of this textbook available for sale or rent through numerous marketplaces; if you opt to acquire an edition other than the 13th, you bear the responsibility for ensuring that you are reading the appropriate material at the appropriate time. Any given chapter of the 13th edition may not cover the same material as the same-numbered chapter in an older edition, just as one example. Also note that any textbook not purchased either from the UGA bookstore or directly from the Pearson company’s website is unlikely to come with a valid MyLab access code, regardless of which edition it is. You are not required to have a physical textbook, but you are required to have your own valid MyLab access code for our course. Class slides will be posted online within MyLab. Any material covered in the posted slides may be included in homework or test questions, even in the rare event that a slide is posted online but never displayed in a video presentation. There is lots of important material (particularly graphs and calculations) which will be presented by Dr. Ward via video but not explicitly included in the class slides. 1

ECON 2105 Principles of Macroeconomics

Dr. Benjamin Ward Fall 2020 University of Georgia, Terry College of Business

TR 5:30-6:45

Grading: Your overall course grade will be determined by the following rubric. Homework average 10% Midterm exam average 50% Cumulative final exam 40% At the end of the semester, letter grades will be assigned according to minimum cutoff numbers. In order to earn a given letter grade, your numerical average must be at least as high as the cutoff for that letter. No rounding. Thus, if the cutoff for an A is 94, then a numerical average of 94.000 will yield an A, but a numerical average of 93.999 will yield an A-minus. Below is the tentative list of cutoffs. A: 94 A-minus: 90 B-plus: 87 B: 84 B-min B-minus: us: 80 C-plus: 77 C: 70 D: 6 60 0 F: 0 At semester’s end, any given cutoff may be lowered below the posted number above, but it will never be raised. Thus, this list represents the minimum numerical average you need to achieve in order to be assured of earning a particular letter grade. There is one caveat: You must earn a grade of at least 60 on at least one exam in order to receive a final grade of D or better for the course, regardless of your numerical average. Your final grade in this course may affect your ability to enroll in certain majors or programs at UGA later on; be sure to investigate such considerations at the start of the semester. Homework is due at 11:58:59 pm (Athens time) on the scheduled date for each assignment. See “Course handout B: Calendar” for the full set of assignments and due dates. At the end of the semester, each student’s lowest homework grade for the semester will be dropped. There will be no extensions granted for homework deadlines. Each student must submit homework individually. A 5% penalty will be deducted for each day that a given assignment is late. (3 days late = 15% penalty.) No homework may be submitted after 11:58:59 pm on the end-of-semester reading day, nor may any homework assignment be submitted more than 20 days after its due date. The MyLab homework system allows multiple tries for each problem if you get it wrong at first. Take advantage of this to learn from your mistakes and improve your score. If you want to return to a previously completed homework to rework it and improve your score, access it through the “Assignments” link rather than through “Grades & Review of Old Work.” You can earn additional points, although the late penalty will activate after the due date. To review a previous homework without affecting your score, go through the “Grades & Review of Old Work” tab and click “Review.” This way, you will not receive additional credit, but no late deduction will ensue. Note that any re-taking of an earlier homework after the due date “to improve your score” will actually incur a late penalty, so it is generally not a good idea to re-take a homework several days after you already submitted it—those penalties add up, all the way to 100% after 20 days. Topics covered in homework will usually be ones that we just discussed in class, but occasionally you may encounter a homework question about material we have yet to discuss in class. This is okay. In such a case, use the textbook and slides to find the answers to those questions. Exams: There will be three midterm exams and one final exam, all conducted online. Midterm exams will be administered during our designated class time. Exams will test you on the material that we have covered in class slides and lecture videos. At the end of the semester, each student’s lowest midterm exam grade will be dropped. Specific rules for exam-taking will be communicated to you ahead of each exam. Exam dates are shown below. The chapters covered by each exam are listed on “Course handout B: Calendar,” distributed at the start of the semester. The final exam is cumulative, and the final exam grade will not be dropped under any circumstances. The list of chapters covered on a given exam may change from that listed on the calendar (if so, an announcement will be made), but the exam dates themselves will not change, barring unforeseen circumstances. Midterm 1: Sept 15 Midterm 3: Nov 10

M idterm 2: Oct 13 Fi Final: nal: Dec 14 (begins at 7:00 pm) 2

ECON 2105 Principles of Macroeconomics

Dr. Benjamin Ward Fall 2020 University of Georgia, Terry College of Business

TR 5:30-6:45

Sanctioned make-up exams: There are a limited number of pre-scheduled, university-sanctioned events, such as away games for varsity athletes, which warrant the arranging of a make-up exam if they prevent you from taking an exam at the scheduled time. Fraternity and sorority events do not fall into this category. If you will be unable to complete an exam due to your participation in a qualifying event, you must notify me via email at least 2 weeks before the exam date, and documentation of your participation will be required. In such cases, an alternate exam will be scheduled according to a suitable plan of my choosing. Your final exam may be rescheduled only if you meet the requirements set forth by UGA (at least three exams scheduled for a single 24-hour period) and if you bring this to my attention at least 2 weeks before the final exam date. This will require you to complete some paperwork ahead of time. For all the relevant details about final exam conflicts, please visit https://curriculumsystems.uga.edu/curriculum/finalExamConflicts/ . Exam emergencies: If you find yourself unable to take a scheduled exam due to a sudden illness or emergency, contact me via email as soon as safely possible. You will be asked to provide satisfactory documentation of the issue. In certain cases involving privacy concerns, this documentation may be coordinated through UGA’s Office of Student Care and Outreach. If you miss a single midterm exam due to illness or emergency on an exam day, that single exam will be scored as a zero and will therefore serve as your one dropped midterm grade for the semester—in this case no make-up exam will be offered. If you experience multiple bona fide, unanticipated illnesses or emergencies which prevent you from taking multiple midterm exams, a make-up exam can be offered ONLY if satisfactory documentation was provided for each incident as soon as possible after each incident. Exam non-emergencies: If you miss a scheduled exam for any reason not outlined above, you will receive a grade of zero for that exam, and no make-up exam will be offered. Sleeping through one’s alarm is just one example of a way to miss an exam which will result in a grade of zero. If you are aware ahead of time that an unsanctioned commitment will keep you from taking a scheduled exam, your options are to cancel that commitment, drop this course before the withdrawal deadline, or accept that you will receive a zero on the missed exam. My policy of dropping the lowest midterm grade takes some pressure off, but beware: If you skip one midterm exam (or get a disappointing grade on it) and you also miss a second midterm exam due to illness or emergency, only one of those midterm grades will be dropped, the other will count, and no make-up will be offered! This means that it is very risky to skip an exam unless you are experiencing a bona fide, unanticipated illness or emergency on exam day. You never know if you might end up getting sick during Midterm 3 and get a zero on it; plan accordingly and don’t waste your one and only “free pass.” Note that all students must take each exam during a narrow, specified window of time; this includes those students who choose not to participate in other parts of the course synchronously, Exam grading corrections: MyLab is a great tool, but it isn’t perfect. On rare occasions an exam question may be answered correctly but graded as incorrect. After each graded exam is returned there will be a limited two-week window of time during which I will be happy to correct any grading errors on that exam. It is your own responsibility to bring such errors to my attention in person before the twoweek window closes. After this window closes, I’ll still be happy to discuss the question with you, but the score will not be adjusted.

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ECON 2105 Principles of Macroeconomics

Dr. Benjamin Ward Fall 2020 University of Georgia, Terry College of Business

TR 5:30-6:45

Class activity will take place entirely online, with opportunities for both synchronous and asynchronous participation. Timely viewing of all class videos is very highly encouraged but is not mandatory. No roll will be taken. There will be two types of class activity. 1. Lecture vide videos os will be pre-recorded and then shared through MyLab for students to view asynchronously at their own pace. In these videos, I will present the class slides, and I’ll demonstrate material involving graphs and calculation. New videos will be added each week; there will not be a set schedule for posting lecture videos. There will be several videos for each chapter; each video will generally be under 10 minutes in length. 2. Class meetings will take place synchronously via Zoom starting at 5:30 on each day of class (except exam days). No new material will be presented in these class meetings. Instead, they will serve as an opportunity to review material that has already been presented in the lecture videos. Students may check MyLab shortly before the start of each class meeting to find that day’s Zoom link (posted to the announcements at the top of the MyLab home page for our course). Each class meeting will end either at 6:45 or when there is no further material to be discussed, whichever comes first. I will not go over the same thing twice in a single class meeting. Therefore, if you wish to participate synchronously, be sure to join promptly at 5:30, not in the middle of the meeting. Class meetings will generally proceed according to the following order of business: a. Announcements and updates from Dr. Ward b. Interactive discussion/review of relevant topics as requested by students Class meetings will be video-recorded. The video of each class meeting will be posted within MyLab by the following afternoon. This way, students may view the class meetings asynchronously if they wish. Students who participate synchronously in a class meeting should watch all of the appropriate lecture videos before the class meeting. Class meetings are intended for review, discussion, and clarification; they are not suitable for learning material the first time. Extra ccredit redit may be earned by virtue of a brief, optional writing response assignment within MyLab which will be described in detail at the end of the semester. Completion of this assignment will earn up to a one percentage point increase in your numerical average for the course, depending on the quality of your work.

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ECON 2105 Principles of Macroeconomics

Dr. Benjamin Ward Fall 2020 University of Georgia, Terry College of Business

TR 5:30-6:45

Contact with your iin nstructor and TA can be achieved via email or by visiting our scheduled online office hours. Email should be sent to Dr. Ward at [email protected] , or to our teaching assistant, Diego Aguiar, at [email protected] . The very firs firstt words in the su subject bject of your em email ail must b be e “2105 5:3 5:30” 0” so that we know you are in our 5:30 section of ECON 2105. This helps us respond to student emails as quickly and as appropriately as possible. I will do my best to respond to emails in a timely manner, but this does not mean that I can always respond right away or even by the next class meeting. If the content of your email indicates that you have not read the syllabus, you may not get the reply that you were looking for! So when in doubt, check the syllabus first. Note that eLC will not generally be used for communication in this course. Offic Office e hours will be held each week by both Dr. Ward and our TA during the times listed below. Instructo Instructorr office hours with Dr. Ward (online via Zoom Zoom,, check MyLab for instructions): Wednesdays 1:10-2:10 pm Th Thursdays ursdays 1:40-2:40 pm TA offic office e hours with Diego Aguiar (online via Zoom, check MyLab for instructions): Wednesdays 9:00-11:00 am You need not contact us in advance to arrange an appointment during our regularly scheduled office hours; simply follow the instructions posted to MyLab to join anytime during the specified times. If Dr. Ward is meeting with another student when you arrive to office hours, you will be placed in a Zoom “waiting room,” and students will be seen in in the order that they arrive. On rare occasions we may have to cancel office hours due to conflicts, in which case we will notify you via email. Whenever possible, general questions about reviewing or clarifying course material should be addressed in a class meeting and not office hours. Office hours are designated primarily for one-on-one discussion of issues not suitable for a class meeting (for example, discussing a student’s graded exam). Honor Code: All students are bound by the UGA Academic Honesty Policy and Honor Code. I encourage you to learn more about what this commitment entails by visiting https://honesty.uga.edu/ . Violations of the Academic Honesty Policy will be enforced, whether you are familiar with the policy or not. UGA Student Honor Code: "I will be academically honest in all of my academic work and will not tolerate academic dishonesty of others." A Culture of Honesty, the University's policy and procedures for handling cases of suspected dishonesty, can be found at www.uga.edu/ovpi. Accommodations and services for students with disabilities are coordinated through the UGA Disability Resource Center. https://drc.uga.edu/ Extra help for this course in the form of tutoring is made available to you for $0 through the UGA Academic Resource Center. Advance appointments may be required. For details, please visit https://dae.uga.edu/services/tutoring/business/ Preparing for success: This course presents a unique way of looking at the world, and many students find the material more difficult than they expected. You should be prepared to spend 5 hours a week or more actively studying and working on material for this course outside of class. If you find that you are struggling to achieve your goals in the course, it is in your best interest to seek help from your instructor and TA as early as possible. That’s what we are here for. By the end of the semester, it may be too late.

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ECON 2105 Principles of Macroeconomics

Dr. Benjamin Ward Fall 2020 University of Georgia, Terry College of Business

TR 5:30-6:45

Mental Health and Wellness Resources: If you or someone you know needs assistance, you are encouraged to contact Student Care and Outreach in the Division of Student Affairs at 706-542-7774 or visit https://sco.uga.edu. They will help you navigate any difficult circumstances you may be facing by connecting you with the appropriate resources or services. UGA has several resources for a student seeking mental health services (https://www.uhs.uga.edu/bewelluga/bewelluga) or crisis support (https://www.uhs.uga.edu/info/emergencies). If you need help managing stress anxiety, relationships, etc., please visit BeWellUGA (https://www.uhs.uga.edu/bewelluga/bewelluga) for a list of FREE workshops, classes, mentoring, and health coaching led by licensed clinicians and health educators in the University Health Center. Additional resources can be accessed through the UGA App. Disclaimer: In order to remain up-to-date, each student is responsible for regularly checking their MyLab account and posted videos, their UGA email address, and any other email addresses they may provide for the purposes of this course. In particular, make certain that the email address associated with your MyLab account is one that you check regularly (at least once per school day)! If you switch your UGA registration to a different section of the same course after you already registered for MyLab, you are responsible for contacting Pearson support right away so that you may be transferred to the proper MyLab course, and so that you will receive the emails that are intended for your new course. The course syllabus is a general plan for the course; deviations announced to the class by the instructor may be necessary.

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