Spring 2014
TTh 9:30am – 10:45am
Bryan 122
ECONOMICS 201-04: PRINCIPLES OF MICROECONOMICS
Professor Garth Heutel
Email: gaheutel@uncg.edu
Office: Bryan 446 (Ph: 336 334 4872)
Office Hours: TTh 11:00am-12:00pm
This is an introductory course designed to introduce students to the basic concepts behind
microeconomics. These concepts include market systems, supply and demand, market equilibrium,
elasticity, business costs, and public finance.
Required Course Materials
I-CLICKER: You will need your own i-clicker remote response device. Either an i-clicker or an i-clicker 2 is
acceptable. You may use a device that you have used in previous classes, and you may use this device in
other classes. You may not use a cell phone or laptop. The i-clicker will be used to take attendance
(which is mandatory) and answer in-class questions (which are part of your grade).
TEXTBOOK: The required textbook is Microeconomics: Brief Edition, Second Edition by McConnell, Brue
and Flynn, published by McGraw-Hill. We will cover chapters 1-3, 5-8, 11-12, and parts of chapters 4
and 9.
ONLINE ACCOUNT: You are also required to register for an online account with McGraw-Hill Connect
Economics. You will be able to access this account through this course's Blackboard page. Each student
is required to have his or her own account. All homework assignments will be turned in through this
account. If you bought the textbook new at the bookstore, it should have come with access to an
account. If not, then you will have to purchase a stand-alone Connect account. With an online account,
you can also choose to get access to an electronic version of the textbook.
Register online as soon as possible. The first homework assignment is due January 17th (the second day
of class), and you must have an account in order to turn in the assignment. If you have not yet received
the access code with your textbook or purchased it separately, then you can still register for a free trial
for a few weeks to complete your first few problem sets (but you will eventually need to have the access
code or to purchase an account).
HOW TO REGISTER: Register online via this course's Blackboard page
1. Sign in to Blackboard: https://blackboard.uncg.edu
2. Select this course (ECO-201-04)
3. On the left-hand-side menu, select "McGraw-Hill Connect." This will open the Connect page in a
new window.
4. Follow the on-screen instructions to register
You will need your access code that you received with your textbook, or you will need to buy an account
with your credit card, or you can opt for the free trial. You can also get to the Connect website directly
with this URL: http://connect.mcgraw-hill.com/class/g_heutel_04
.
LAPTOP: Three in-class midterms and the final exam will require you to bring a laptop to class to take
the exams. For all other class meetings, laptops are not allowed. Laptops can be borrowed from the
University library: http://library.uncg.edu/services/technology_checkout.aspx.
Grades
Grades will be determined according to the following allocation of points:
• Problem Sets
15% of course grade
• Midterm 1
15% of course grade
• Midterm 2
15% of course grade
• Midterm 3
15% of course grade
• Final Examination
25% of course grade
• Participation
10% of course grade
• Attendance
5% of course grade
Your grades for all assignments and your overall cumulative grade at any point in class will be available
on Blackboard.
Problem Sets
Problem sets will be assigned throughout the course, each one covering one or two chapters of the
book. Problem sets are designed to be representative of the material on the midterms and final exam.
All problem sets must be turned in via your online Connect account, and are due at 5:00pm on the
assigned due date. You are encouraged to work together in groups on completing the assignments,
although each student must turn in his or her own problem set via Connect.
Midterms
Three midterm exams will be held during regular class hours (9:30am-11:00am) on Tuesday, February
11th, Thursday, March 20th, and Tuesday, April 22nd. The midterms will be online. You will be required
to bring a laptop to class on each of the midterm days.
During the test, you are only allowed to access the Connect website.
No make-up midterms will be given. If you miss a midterm, your grade for that midterm will be a zero.
Midterm Recaps: There will be an evening recap session shortly after each midterm, where the grader
will go over some questions from the midterm. The dates are Monday February 17th (for Midterm #1),
Monday March 24th (for Midterm #2), and Monday, April 28th (for Midterm #3). Each recap session is
from 7pm-8pm, room TBA. All students are welcome and encouraged to attend any or all of the recap
sessions. However, attendance is mandatory if you score below 70% on a midterm.
Final Examination
The final examination is Tuesday, May 6th from 12pm-3pm (note the later start time). The final exam
will cover all material in the course. You will be required to bring a laptop to class for the final exam.
Participation
Your participation grade is based on your i-clicker responses to questions asked in class. Some questions
will be opinion questions with no right or wrong answer, and you will get credit for any response. Other
questions have a right answer, and you will only get credit for the correct response. These questions are
designed to be easy to answer if you have read the textbook and paid attention to the lectures.
Attendance
Attendance is mandatory. Attendance is taken based on i-clicker responses. If you do not respond to
any of the i-clicker questions during a class, you will be marked absent.
You are allowed one unexcused absence without penalty. Two unexcused absences will drop your
attendance grade to zero. If you have three unexcused absences, you are removed from the course.
Excessive tardies will be counted as an absence.
There are few acceptable excuses for missing class. These include a death in the family, a serious illness
documented by a physician, a religious holiday, and a University-sponsored event. Acceptable excuses
must be requested and approved by email by the instructor before the date of absence. Any absence
without a prior approval by email by the instructor will be counted as an unexcused absence. IF THE
UNEXCUSED ABSENCE OCCURS ON A MIDTERM DATE, THE MIDTERM GRADE WILL BE ZERO AND NO
MAKE-UP WILL BE ALLOWED.
The University's attendance policy can be read here:
http://web.uncg.edu/reg/Bulletin/Current/AcaRegs/ClassAttendance.aspx
Letter Grades
Grades will be based on the following:
• A: 90% and higher
• B: 80% to 89%
• C: 70% to 79%
• D: 60% to 69%
• F: 59% and below
Pluses and minuses may be added to these at the instructor's discretion. Grade assignment may change
from what is indicated above by a curve, but grades will only be curved upwards and never downwards.
Thus, a curve will never hurt you and may help you.
Academic Integrity Policy
Students are expected to know and abide by the academic integrity policy 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://sa.uncg.edu/handbook/academic-integrity-policy/.
Graduate Assistant
The graduate assistant for this course is TBA. He or she will be grading the problem sets, midterms, and
the final exam. You may contact him/her directly at TBA if you would like to meet for office hours.
Student Study Program
As a student in this course, you have the opportunity to participate in the Student Study Program (SSP),
which is one of the four programs housed in the Student Success Center located in the McIver Building.
The Student Study Program is designed to offer additional academic support for students enrolled in
large classes that have proven to be historically difficult.
The purpose of the SSP is to provide undergraduate students with the opportunity to form collaborative
study groups of up to 4 students. Students will be matched by the program coordinator with other
students in the same course and section number. To sign up or to learn more about SSP, go to
http://success.uncg.edu/ssp/. If you have further questions, you may also contact the Coordinator of the
SSP, Jae Haley, at ssp@uncg.edu.
Participation in the SSP is voluntary. Students participating in the SSP for the duration of the semester
will earn 50 extra credit points toward a homework assignment grade.
Office Hours
Office hours are Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11am-12pm in Bryan 446. You are strongly encouraged
to attend office hours, especially early in the semester. You should come to office hours if you score
lower than a B (80%) on any midterm.
You are welcome to drop in during office hours without an appointment. You may also schedule an
appointment during office hours online with this link:
https://www.google.com/calendar/selfsched?sstoken=UURfek9lZlVJVF8yfGRlZmF1bHR8YmJmZjQzOTcz
MmJlMjM3MmFhMTdjZWRkZTlmYTgyNjc . This link is also available on the course Blackboard page, on
the left-hand-side menu, under "Schedule Office Hours." I will add additional office hour times as we
get closer to a midterm.
If you would like to speak with me but are unable to meet during the scheduled office hours, then email
me to arrange an alternate time. You may also arrange to meet with the grader for office hours (see
above).
Additional Requests/Advice
• No talking to your neighbors during class, even if you are discussing the class. If you have
questions raise your hand, or wait to ask them during office hours. No cell phone use or texting.
• No laptop use during class.
• A rule of thumb for college courses is that you spend three hours per week working on the
course (studying, completing assignments, reading) for every one hour that the course meets.
For this course that means you should expect to work about nine hours per week in addition to
the lectures. If this is not feasible for you given your schedule, then perhaps this is not the
course for you.
• To succeed in this class, you should
1. Complete all of the assigned reading before the day of class, reading carefully and taking
notes.
2. Come to each class, pay attention, and take notes.
3. Do all homework assignments, making sure that you understand each problem.
4. Come to office hours whenever you have questions, especially early on in the course. If
you score lower than a B (80%) on any midterm, you should come to office hours to
discuss it.
Course Schedule
All required reading assignments should be completed before class on that day.
Tuesdays
January 14
Required Reading: Introduction, p. 2, Chapter
1, p. 3-12
January 21
Required Reading: Chapter 2, p. 31-49
January 28
Required Reading: Chapter 3, p. 62-71
February 4
Required Reading: Chapter 4, p. 75-87
Homework Due, 5pm: Chapter 3/4 Problem Set
February 11
Midterm #1
February 18
Required Reading: Chapter 6, p. 142-150
Homework Due, 5pm: Chapter 6 Problem Set
February 25
Required Reading: Chapter 7, p. 163-166
March 4
Required Reading: Chapter 8, p. 179-192
March 11
Spring Break, no class
March 18
Review Session for Midterm #2
March 25
Guest Speaker
April 1
Required Reading: Chapter 5, p. 106-11
April 8
Required Reading: Chapter 11, p. 253-263
April 15
Required Reading: Chapter 12, p. 275-287, p.
Thursdays
January 16
Required Reading: Chapter 1, p. 12-22,
Chapter 1 Appendix, p. 25-29
Homework Due, 5pm: Chapter 1 Problem Set
January 23
Required Reading: Chapter 3, p. 52-62.
Homework Due, 5pm: Chapter 2 Problem Set
January 30
Required Reading: Chapter 3 Web Appendix,
p. 1-5
February 6
Review Session for Midterm #1
February 13
Required Reading: Chapter 6, p. 126-142
February 20
Required Reading: Chapter 7, p. 153-162
February 27
Required Reading: Chapter 7, p. 166-176
Homework Due, 5pm: Chapter 7 Problem Set
March 6
Required Reading: Chapter 8, p. 192-199,
Chapter 9, p. 202-205, p. 209-211
Homework Due, 5pm: Chapter 8/9 Problem Set
March 13
Spring Break, no class
March 20
Midterm #2
March 27
Required Reading: Chapter 5, p. 97-105
April 3
Required Reading: Chapter 5, p. 111-122
Homework Due, 5pm: Chapter 5 Problem Set
April 10
Chapter 11, p. 263-273
April 17
Review Session for Midterm #3
292-295
Homework Due, 5pm: Chapter 11/12 Problem
Set
April 22
Midterm #3
April 29
No class
May 6
Final Exam
12pm-3pm
April 24
Review Session for Final Exam
May 1
No class