Economics 201
Principles of Microeconomics
Fall 2013
MWF 10:00 – 10:50am
SOEB 120
Instructor:
Dr. Michelle Sheran
Office: 445 Bryan Building
Phone: 336-256-1192
E-mail: mesheran@uncg.edu
Office Hours: Mondays
1:00-1:45pm
Wednesdays 3:30-4:30pm
Fridays
1:00-1:45pm
Course Description:
An introductory microeconomic analysis of how individuals and firms cope with the fact that they
have unlimited wants but limited resources.
Learning Objectives:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Demonstrate how scarcity forces trade-offs, how every choice has an opportunity cost, and how
different opportunity costs give rise to comparative advantages.
Apply knowledge of supply and demand, market equilibrium and elasticity to demonstrate how
price allocates scarce resources.
Explain how markets reach efficient outcomes, why markets sometimes fail, and how
government intervention can impact markets.
Describe a firm’s production process and resulting cost structure and show how output
decisions are made.
Distinguish between perfectly competitive and monopolistic markets and understand the
implications of each on market efficiency.
Required Materials:
1.
Textbook: Foundations of Microeconomics by Robin Bade and Michael Parkin
(You do not have to buy the most recent edition of this book.)
2.
All students are REQUIRED to register for MyEconLab through http://pearsonmylab.com/.
Homework assignment and submission occur through this on-line account. Registration
instructions are posted on Blackboard under the Syllabus link.
To register, you will need a:
• course ID (sheran56833)
• student access code
Custom textbooks (containing only the chapters covered in this course) are available from the UNCG
bookstore for $128.35. These come packaged with the required student access code for MyEconLab.
If you find the textbook at a good price from another seller, you can buy a student access code for
MyEconLab for $55 through http://pearsonmylab.com/. Alternatively, you can buy the eText and
student access code for $100 through http://pearsonmylab.com/. If you're waiting for financial aid and
can't pay immediately, you can get temporary access to MyEconLab without payment for 17 days.
Grading:
Homework
Lowest Midterm Exam
Highest Midterm Exam
Final Exam
25%
15%
25%
35%
Your course letter grade will be assigned based on the following scale:
97% and above:
At least 93% but less than 97%:
At least 90% but less than 93%:
At least 87% but less than 90%:
At least 83% but less than 87%
At least 80% but less than 83%:
At least 77% but less than 80%:
At least 73% but less than 77%:
At least 70% but less than 73%:
At least 67% but less than 70%:
At least 63% but less than 67%:
At least 60% but less than 63%:
Less than 60%:
A+
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CD+
D
DF
Homework Assignments:
There are 7-9 homework assignments, administered through MyEconLab. All assignments are due by
11:59 pm on the evening of the stated deadline. Late submissions will not be accepted for any
reason. I will drop your lowest homework score before calculating your homework average. The
remaining assignments will receive equal weight in your homework grade.
Extra Credit:
You can earn up to 5 extra credit points for each of the three exams. Extra credit points are based on
the number of “mastery points” (MP) earned in the study plan section of MyEconLab. Extra credit
points will be calculated as follows:1
1
= 5 ∗ #
#
I reserve the right to change this grading scheme during the semester.
To earn mastery points:
• Work the practice problems in the study plans of the chapters covered on a homework
assignment (Ex: Homework #1 covers Chapters 1 & 2).
• Click “prove mastery” and then take the Extra Credit test corresponding to the homework
assignment (Ex: Extra Credit #1 corresponds to Homework #1).
Mastery points are awarded based on your performance on the Extra Credit test and must be earned
prior to the relevant exam.
Exams:
The exam dates are listed below. Put them in your calendar immediately because there are no makeup
exams and very few acceptable excuses for missing one. Acceptable excuses include a death in the
family, a University-sponsored event or excursion, or a serious illness documented by a doctor.
Acceptable excuses must be approved before the scheduled exam date. Exams are all closed-book,
closed-note, and closed-friend/neighbor. You may bring a calculator to the exam, but all calculators
must be non-programmable. Cell phones cannot be used as calculators. You must bring a red
scantron sheet purchased from the UNCG bookstore to each exam. Please note that the final exam will
be given only on the date scheduled by the University.
Exam I
Exam II
Comprehensive Final Exam
September 21st
October 28th
December 4th
in class
in class
12-3pm
Academic Integrity Policy:
Students are expected to know and abide by the Honor Code in all matters pertaining to this course.
Violations of this code will be pursued in accordance with the code. . The link to UNCG’s academic
integrity policy is:
http://academicintegrity.uncg.edu/complete/
Faculty and Student Guidelines
Please familiarize yourself with the Bryan School’s Faculty and Student Guidelines. These guidelines
establish principles and expectations for the administration, faculty, staff, and students of the Bryan
School of Business and Economics. The link for this document is
http://www.uncg.edu/bae/faculty_student_guidelines.pdf
Additional Requests
•
No laptops are allowed in the classroom without permission. If you would like to use your
laptop to take notes, you must get permission from me during the first week of class and
must sit in the first two rows of the classroom. However, I strongly encourage you to take
notes with paper and pen/pencil. I believe this is the best way to learn the material and is
also beneficial for learning how to use graphs.
•
Do not talk to your neighbors during class. It distracts the students around you, and it distracts
me. It will not be tolerated. If you talk during class I reserve the right to ask you to leave the
room.
•
I know about the parking problems on campus and am sympathetic, but I do request that you be
on time.
•
Please make sure that all cell phones are shut off during lecture. If I see you texting I reserve
the right to ask you to leave the room.
•
I encourage you to work together on assigned practice problems and even graded homework
assignments, although every student is responsible for submitting his/her own answers to each
graded assignment in order to receive credit.
•
When you begin to feel lost, BE PROACTIVE!! I am more than happy to answer questions
during lecture.
•
I want to make it known up front that I expect you to spend a minimum of 5 hours each week
reading, reviewing, and completing homework assignments outside of class. If this is not
feasible for you given your other time commitments, perhaps this is not the class for you.