Economics 300: The Economy of Alaska
University of Alaska Anchorage, Spring Semester 2008
An Online Course Taught Over the Internet Using “Blackboard”
Gunnar Knapp
Professor of Economics
Institute of Social and Economic Research
University of Alaska Anchorage
3211 Providence Drive
Anchorage, Alaska 99508
907-786-7717 (telephone)
Gunnar.Knapp@uaa.alaska.edu
SYLLABUS
Read this syllabus carefully. The syllabus explains all of the course requirements. You are
responsible for reading the syllabus and knowing the course requirements.
Contents
Getting Started in Blackboard
Getting Help with Blackboard
Occasional System Problems with Blackboard
UAA Distance Education Student Guide
This is an Entirely Online Course
How Much Work is this Course?
Course Objectives
How this Course is Graded
Course Units
Unit Due Dates, Exams and Points
Overview of Typical Work for a Course Topic Unit
Homework
Exam Arrangements
Exams
Online Discussions
Course Deadlines and Calendar
Blackboard Announcements
Posting Grades
Incompletes
About Myself
Contacting Me
2
2
2
3
3
4
4
5
6
8
9
10
12
13
13
14
17
17
17
17
18
Note: Information about assignment due dates and point values shown in this syllabus is
potentially subject to change. Information about due dates and point values will be posted for in
the “Course Materials” folder in Blackboard—including any changes. Information posted in
Blackboard always takes precedence over information posted in this syllabus..
Econ 300: The Economy of Alaska, Spring 2008, Syllabus, page 1
Getting Started in Blackboard
This course is taught entirely online in Blackboard. Taking this course online is straightforward.
You will be guided along step-by-step in Blackboard. The easiest way to understand how the
course works is to get started doing the work. To get started in using Blackboard, go to the go to
the UAA Computer Services “Blackboard Login” website:
http://technology.uaa.alaska.edu/blackboard/
This site has all the information you need to know about using Blackboard.
Getting Help with Blackboard
For technical questions about Blackboard—for example if you're not sure how to log onto
Blackboard for this course, you can’t open up a document in Blackboard, you can't recall how to
send a message to the course online discussion, you can’t figure out how to submit an
assignment, etc.--call the UAA Call Center at (907) 786-4646 or e-mail them at
callcenter@uaa.alaska.edu. Their technicians are very well trained in Blackboard, and they can
generally walk you through a problem in five to ten minutes. In some cases, if they can’t solve a
problem, they may refer you to Blackboard specialists at Distance Education Services.
Please do NOT call or e-mail me with technical questions about Blackboard. I know a lot about
the Alaska economy, but I DON’T know much about Blackboard or computers or internet
connections. By all means contact me if you think there is a problem with the way that I have
done something in Blackboard—but if it’s a technical problem on your end, contact the UAA
Call Center (or usually even better, a technically-minded friend or fellow student).
Occasional System Problems with Blackboard
Sometimes, if you are having problems with Blackboard, it’s not your fault. In past semesters,
from time to time there have been periods when the Blackboard system was not working, for
periods ranging from a few minutes to a whole day. This can be very frustrating for everyone
involved. Try to stay calm and understand that the information technology people are working
as hard as they can to resolve the problem. Where appropriate (for example when Blackboard
crashes on days when homework is due) I will adjust deadlines.
Usually (but not always) if Blackboard is having a problem there will be a posting about it on the
UAA Computer Services website at:
http://technology.uaa.alaska.edu/
Look under “System Status” at the top right of the screen. If you telephone the call center (7864646) they also usually include announcements about whether Blackboard is experiencing
problems.
Econ 300: The Economy of Alaska, Spring 2008, Syllabus, page 2
UAA Distance Education Student Guide
This course, like all UAA distance education courses, is administered by the UAA Distance
Education Services office. Although I write and grade the exams, the Distance Education
Services office administers them.
Information about how to take exams and other important information related to taking this
course is in the “Distance Education Student Guide.” This document is posted online in
Blackboard under the “Syllabus” folder. It is also available online at:
www.uaa.alaska.edu/distanceeducation/upload/Distance-Education-Student-Guide.pdf
Be SURE to read:



Page 5: Distance Education Quick Start Guide (you can ignore steps 3 and 5)
Page 7: Midterm and Final Exams for Distance Courses
Page 9: Authorized Extended Site Contact Information and Alternate Proctor Sites (only
for those students who do not plan to take exams at the Anchorage campus)
A lot of the material in the Student Guide is not relevant to this course. The material listed above
is all that you need to read.
This is an Entirely Online Course
This course will be taught entirely over the Internet, using UAA’s “Blackboard” distance
education software. All of the readings, homework, and other course materials will be posted on
the Internet, in Blackboard. You will turn in all of your work over the internet, also using
Blackboard.
THERE IS NO TEXTBOOK. You do not need to buy anything for this course at the bookstore.
The only things you will not do over the internet are the midterm and final exams. You will do
these either at one of the UAA campuses or at other places or times under the supervision of a
proctor.
To take this course, you will need basic computer hardware, software and skills. If you are a
regular user of the internet and e-mail, then you probably have all the hardware, software and
skills that you need to take this course. The most important thing is to have a reasonably fast
internet connection.
It is easy to learn to use Blackboard. The first “topic” of the course is specifically devoted to
helping you familiarize yourself with Blackboard.
Taking a course online is different from taking it on-campus together with other students. There
are advantages and disadvantages. The main advantage is that you will have greater flexibility.
Econ 300: The Economy of Alaska, Spring 2008, Syllabus, page 3
You can do the work when and where you want. You also have the opportunity for a continuing
online discussion with me and with other students.
But you will also have to take more responsibility for your learning. You can’t sit back and
listen to lectures: you will have to get most of what you learn by reading. What you get out of
this course will directly reflect what you put into it. A lot will depend on the effort you make to
do the readings and homework, and to interact with me and with other students to share your
questions, knowledge, and opinions.
How Much Work is this Course?
The amount of work for this course, the level of difficulty of the material, and the grading
standards for the course will be similar to those for an on-campus course. You should expect to
spend about the same amount of time as you would for an on-campus course, and you should
expect to learn about the same amount.
Note that if you were taking an on-campus course, you would spend about 2 ½ hours per week in
class. Thus, you should expect to spend more time working on homework and reading than you
would for an on-campus course.
Course Objectives
My objectives for this course are to provide students with an introduction to the Alaska
economy, Alaska economic policy issues, and basic concepts in regional economics. After
taking this course I hope you will be able to answer the following kinds of questions:

What basic economic concepts are needed to understand the Alaska economy? What are
useful models for describing a regional economy such as Alaska’s?

What data sources are available for describing the Alaska economy? Where can they be
found? How are the data collected? What do they mean—and not mean?

What is the overall structure of the Alaska economy? What is the relative contribution of
different industries to the economy? How is Alaska’s economic structure changing?
How and why does it differ from that of other states?

What are past and current trends in major Alaska industries, including oil and gas,
fisheries, mining, forest products, tourism, defense, federal government, construction,
transportation, services, trade, and state and local government? What are the most
important factors which will affect the future of these industries? How are these
industries likely to change in the future?

What is the role of state and local government in the Alaska economy? How may state
revenues and expenditures change in the future? What effects might these changes have?
Econ 300: The Economy of Alaska, Spring 2008, Syllabus, page 4

What are regional differences in the Alaska economy? How does the rural economy
differ from the urban economy? How does the economy vary between different parts of
rural Alaska? What special economic challenges are faced by rural Alaska? What is the
outlook for the future of the rural Alaska economy?

What are potential economic development strategies for Alaska? What has been Alaska’s
past experience with different kinds of strategies?

How might the Alaska economy change in the future? What are key factors which will
affect the future of the Alaska economy?

What major public policy choices are Alaskans facing which may affect the Alaska
economy? What are your own personal opinions about these choices?
I hope this course will help you to be an informed citizen of Alaska. The Alaska economy is
changing. Alaska faces many important choices. I hope that this course will help you to
understand the nature of those choices, to formulate you own perspectives about them, and to
participate as an informed citizen in the discussion about them.
How this Course is Graded
Grading for this course is based on “points” that you earn over the course of the semester. There
are five different types of points with a total of 1000 possible points, as shown below:
Summary of Types of Points and Total Possible Points
Type of points
Total possible points
Homework
230
Midterm Exam
360
Final Exam
365
Online Discussions
20
25
Surveys*
Total
1000
*The course includes 25 surveys, including a pre-test, post-test, 22 unit
surveys about the material covered in individual course units, and a course
evaluation survey. Completing each survey is worth one point. Your
answers on the surveys do not affect your course grade.
Econ 300: The Economy of Alaska, Spring 2008, Syllabus, page 5
The course grading scale is shown below:
Course Grading Scale
Percent Range
Point Range
- 100.000%
90.000%
900.00 - 1000.00
A
89.999%
80.000%
800.00 - 899.99
B
79.999%
70.000%
700.00 - 799.99
C
69.999%
60.000%
600.00 - 699.99
D
59.999%
0.000%
- 599.99
0.00
F
IMPORTANT!! The "point ranges" shown in this table are
potentially subject to change during the semester. If the total
point value changed to a total different from 1000, the point
ranges would change according. For example, if the total point
value declined to 962, then the "cutoff" for an "A" grade would
decline to 90% of 962, or 865.8.
Grade
Occasionally, I may give students “extra credit” points. I may do this for a variety of reasons. In
the past, for example, I have given extra credit to students who have pointed out errors in
homework assignments or answers, to students who have posted particularly helpful answers to
questions posted by other students, and to students who have posted exceptionally good and
thoughtful comments in online discussions.
Course Units
This course is organized into 25 “units,” which are listed in the table on the following page. You
will work for the course doing the work for each unit in order. All of the material for each unit
will be posted in the “Course Materials” section of Blackboard. There are four kinds of units

Standard topic units. There are 17 “standard topic units.” Each of these standard topic
units covers a topic related to the economy of Alaska, such as “Geography,” “Mining”
and “Oil.” Each standard topic units includes readings and a homework which is
intended to help you understand the material for the topic. Each standard topic unit also
includes “exam questions,” which are potential exam questions about the topic which
may appear on the midterm or final exam. Each standard topic unit also includes a
survey about the material in the topic. Doing the survey is worth 1 point towards your
grade (how you answer the survey doesn’t affect your grade.) Two of the “standard topic
units—“Fiscal” and “Rural--also include a requirement to post a comment in a class
discussion.

Topics units not covered on exams. There are 3 topic units which have homework but
which are not covered on either exam. These are the “Blackboard” unit (the first topic
unit of the semester) and the “Cost” and “Population” units (the last two topics units of
the semester).

“Current events” units. These 2 units will consist of readings about current events that
happen during the first half of the semester (“Current I”) and the second half of the
semester (“Current II”). For each reading I will include one or more potential exam
questions about that reading. Some of the “Current I” exam questions will appear on the
Econ 300: The Economy of Alaska, Spring 2008, Syllabus, page 6
midterm exam and some of the “Current II” exam questions will appear on the final
exam. Each of the current events units also includes a survey, but no homework.

Survey-only units. There are 3 units (Pre-test, Post-test, and Evaluation) which consist
only of short surveys. Although doing each of these surveys is worth 1 point, how you
answer them does not affect your course grade.
Overview of Economy of Alaska Course Units (listed in the order you would typically complete them)
Unit
Pre-test
BLACKBOARD
Includes*
S
H, S
Description
A short survey intended to provide me with a quick, general assessment about what students in the course
know about the economy before taking this course.
Practice using "Blackboard," the web-based program for online instruction which will be used for this course.
An overview of Alaska geography, including major cities and towns, bodies of water, islands, mountain
ranges, and rivers. An overview of six Alaska geographic regions.
An overview of Alaska's economy including population, employment, major industries, and the structure of the
OVERVIEW
H, M, S
economy.
Key Alaska lands legislation, including the Alaska Statehood Act, the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act
LANDS
H, M, S (ANCSA), and the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), and effects on Alaska land
ownership and management.
DATA
H, M, S An overview of Alaska economic data sources and their interpretation and limitations.
Basic theoretical concepts needed for analysis of a regional economy, including differences between regional
and national economies, economic base models (including the concepts of "basic" and "support" sectors and
THEORY
H, M, S
economic multipliers) and input-output models. Basic theories of "economic development." Common Alaska
economic development strategies and their limitations. The "resource curse."
HISTORY
H, M, S An overview of the historical development of Alaska's economy.
The role of the federal government and federal spending in Alaska's economy, including the military, federal
FEDERAL
H, M, S
civilian agencies, and other federal spending.
The Alaska oil and gas industry and its role in the Alaska economy. Alaska oil and gas resources. History of
OIL
H, M, S oil and gas development in Alaska. Alaska oil and gas leasing, royalties and taxation. Issues associated with
the development of an Alaska gas pipeline. Oil and gas development policy issues.
CURRENT I
M, S
Current events in the Alaska economy during the first half of the semester.
Alaska state revenues and expenditures. The Permanent Fund and the Permanent Fund Dividend Program.
FISCAL
H, F, S Issues related to state revenues and expenditures. Forming your own opinion about the fiscal policy issues
facing Alaska.
The role of state and local government in the Alaska economy, including government employment, capital
STATE
H, F, D, S
projects, transfers, and subsidies. Sources of funding for state and local government.
The Alaska mining industry and its role in the Alaska economy. Alaska mineral resources. Factors affecting
MINING
H, F, S
development of the industry, and prospects for future development.
The Alaska seafood industry and its role in the Alaska economy. Alaska fisheries resources. Alaska fisheries
management issues and their implications for the seafood industry and its role in the economy. Effects of
SEAFOOD
H, F, S
changing markets for Alaska salmon and other species. Challenges and opportunities facing the Alaska
seafood industry.
The Alaska forest products industry and its role in the Alaska economy. Alaska forest products resources.
FOREST
H, F, S
Factors affecting development of the industry, and prospects for future development.
The Alaska tourism industry and its role in the Alaska economy. The role of recreation-related industries in
TOURISM
H, F, S Alaska, including sport fishing. Factors affecting development of the industry, and prospects for future
development.
The Alaska transportation industry and its role in the Alaska economy. Alaska's transportation infrastructure
TRANSPORT
H, F, S
and transportation costs, and effects of transportation on economic development. The air cargo industry.
SUPPORT
H, F, S Alaska's support industries and their role in the Alaska economy, including in particular trade and services.
Overview of rural Alaska economies. The economic role of subsistence. The rural cash economy. The role of
RURAL
H, F, D, S transfers in rural economies. Challenges in rural economic development. Forming your own opinion about
policy issues related to economic development of rural Alaska.
CURRENT II
F, S
Current events in the Alaska economy during the second half of the semester.
Trends in Alaska's cost of living over time, and comparisons among different regions of Alaska and with other
COST
H, S
states.
POPULATION
H, S
Alaska's changing population and demographics, and implications for future economic development.
Retake of the "pretest" survey done at the beginning of the semester, intended to provide me with an
Post-test
S
assessment of how much students learned about the economy from taking this course.
Evaluation
S
Course evaluation survey, to provide me with feedback about how to improve the course in the future.
*H = Includes a homework assignment; M = Covered on midterm exam; F = covered on final exam; D = requires participation in a discussion;
S = includes a 1-point required survey.
GEOGRAPHY
H, M, S
Econ 300: The Economy of Alaska, Spring 2008, Syllabus, page 7
Unit Due Dates, Exams and Points
The table below summarizes the planned due dates and points for each course unit as of the
beginning of the semester. The midterm exam will cover the topic units from “Geography”
through “Oil” (and “Current I”) and the final exam will cover the topic units from “Fiscal”
through “Rural” (and “Current II”).
Unit Due Dates, Exams and Points: Spring 2008
Due date for
Midterm
homework Homework Exam Final Exam Discussion
&/or survey
Points
Points
points
Points
Unit
Pre-test
BLACKBOARD
GEOGRAPHY
OVERVIEW
LANDS
DATA
THEORY
HISTORY
FEDERAL
OIL
CURRENT I
FISCAL
STATE
MINING
SEAFOOD
FOREST
TOURISM
TRANSPORT
SUPPORT
RURAL
CURRENT II
POPULATION
COST
Post-Test
Evaluation
Jan 20
Jan 20
Jan 27
Feb 3
Feb 10
Feb 10
Feb 17
Feb 24
Feb 24
Mar 2
Mar 9
Mar 23
Mar 23
Mar 30
Mar 30
Apr 6
Apr 6
Apr 6
Apr 13
Apr 20
Apr 27
May 4
May 4
May 4
May 4
5
15
20
5
15
15
10
15
15
15
10
10
15
5
10
5
20
15
45
60
15
45
45
30
45
45
30
45
30
30
45
15
30
15
60
45
50
10
10
5
5
Survey
Points
Total
points
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
6
61
81
21
61
61
41
61
61
31
71
41
41
61
21
41
21
81
71
51
6
6
1
1
Total
230
360
365
20
25
1000
IMPORTANT!! The information shown in this table is potentially subject to change during the semester.
Current information about due dates and point values will be posted for each unit in the "Course
Materials" folder in Blackboard. Information posted in Blackboard always takes precedence over
information in this syllabus.
In the past, for example, I have sometimes moved due dates back, changed point values for
assignments, or dropped some assignments. It is possible that I would make similar changes this
semester—although I will try to avoid doing so. (I will not move any due dates forward or add
any assignments.) Information about due dates and point values will be posted for each unit in
the “Course Materials” folder in Blackboard. Information posted in Blackboard always takes
precedence over information posted in this syllabus.
Econ 300: The Economy of Alaska, Spring 2008, Syllabus, page 8
Overview of Typical Work for a Course Topic Unit
For most course topic units, there are readings, homework questions, exam questions, and a
survey. Here is what you need to do for most course topic units.

Read the readings. There are readings for most topics. These include notes and
presentations which I have prepared, government publications, magazine articles,
newspaper articles, book chapters, materials taken from web sites, and miscellaneous
other kinds of readings. (As an experiment this year, I may also be adding some audio
recordings, which you would listen to as “streaming audio.”) All of the readings (and
potential audio recordings) will be posted online in “Blackboard.” You may either read
the readings online or download them and print them out. The homework for each topic
unit which give you guidance about which parts of each reading you need to focus on.
You may skim or ignore other parts.

Do the homework. There will be a homework assignment for each topic unit. Each
homework assignment will be in a “Word” document which you can download to your
computer from Blackboard. The purposes of the homework are (1) to help you
understand the topic; and (2) to focus your attention on the most important information
for you to learn from the readings in order to answer the exam questions. All of the
information you will need to do the homework and the exams will be in the readings.

Study the topic exam questions. For each topic I will post a list of exam questions. All
of the actual exam questions on the midterm and final exams will be based on these
posted topic exam questions. The questions may not be written exactly the same, but if
you can answer the posted topic exam questions you should be able to do the actual exam
questions. All of the work for each topic is designed, directly or indirectly, to help you
learn the answers to these exam questions. Before you begin studying a topic, you should
skim the exam questions so that your study can be focused on learning the information
you need to answer these questions. After you have done the homework and readings,
you should go back to the exam questions and make sure that you understand how to
answer them. You should review them again as you study for the exams.

Do the survey. After you finish each topic, do the short online survey for the topic. The
purpose of this survey is to help me understand how long it took students to do the topic,
how interesting they found the topic to be, how helpful the readings were or weren’t, how
much students feel they learned, and so on. The surveys are required. Doing each survey
is worth 1 point towards your grade total. However, how you answer the surveys has no
effect on your course grade. Blackboard only reports aggregated survey results. It does
not allow the instructor to see individual survey answers (except for the “prê-test and the
post-test, which Blackboard technically thinks of as “exams, even though your answers
do not affect your grade.)
Econ 300: The Economy of Alaska, Spring 2008, Syllabus, page 9
Homework
There will be a homework assignment for most units (except for Pre-test, Current I, Current II,
Post-Test and Evaluation). Each homework assignment will be in a “Word” document which you
can download to your computer from Blackboard. There is space in the homework document
for you to answer each question. After you have filled in the answers, you “upload” the
completed assignment back into Blackboard. The course materials for the “Blackboard” unit
include instructions for how to download and upload homework assignments.
The homework is the core of this class. The purpose of the homework is to help you understand
the topic and to focus your attention on the most important information for you to learn from the
readings in order to answer the exam questions. All of the information you will need to do the
homework will be in the readings. For each question, the homework will tell you specifically
where in the readings you can find the answer.
You can also use the online Class Discussion (see below) to ask me or other students about
homework questions that you don’t understand.
What I expect for the homework, and base the homework grading on, is that you show a good
faith effort to do each question. If you don’t understand a question, or can’t find the answer in
the readings, then use the answer space to say that you didn’t understand the question, or that
you couldn’t find the answer in the readings. As long as you show me that you TRIED to do the
question, I will count your answer as a good faith effort.
There is a due date for each homework. The due dates for each assignment will be shown in the
“Course Materials” section of Blackboard. To get full credit for a homework assignment, the
homework must be submitted (uploaded to Blackboard) by 11:59 p.m. on the due date.
Each homework will have a point value of either 5, 10, 15 or 20 points, depending on the length
of the homework and the amount of work involved. I or a grader will assign a grade to each
homework based on the following rubric:
Homework Grading Rubric
Total point value for homework
On time?
Quality of effort
Submitted Good-faith effort on all questions
on time Less than good fairth effort on a few questions
Less than good faith effort on many questions
Submitted Good-faith effort on all questions
Less than good fairth effort on a few questions
late
Less than good faith effort on many questions
Percent
grade
100%
85%
65%
85%
65%
45%
5
10
15
20
5.00
4.25
3.25
4.25
3.25
2.25
10.00
8.50
6.50
8.50
6.50
4.50
15.00
12.75
9.75
12.75
9.75
6.75
20.00
17.00
13.00
17.00
13.00
9.00
I will post homework answers, which you may use for studying, shortly after the due date. If
you submit homework late, do not use the posted homework answers to do your assignment. If it
appears that you are copying answers for late assignments from posted homework answers, I will
grade this as a “less than good faith effort.”
Econ 300: The Economy of Alaska, Spring 2008, Syllabus, page 10
My over-riding goal for this course is for you to learn about the Economy of Alaska. You can’t
learn if you don’t actively work on the homework yourself.
It makes no sense let someone else do your homework in this class for you! The homework is
specifically designed to help you learn what you need in order to pass the exams.
Having another student do your homework is also cheating. The University of Alaska
Anchorage policies regarding cheating are very clearly stated in the catalogue. If I discover
evidence of cheating—such as identical answers on long homework questions—I will take it
very seriously.
I recognize that students can benefit greatly from studying together, including discussing
homework together. I encourage that. But your homework answers should be your own.
If you work together on a homework assignment with other students and therefore have similar
answers to some questions—in particular for longer essay questions—then at the beginning of
the assignment, in the box where you are asked to write your name, you should explain who you
worked with and which questions you worked on together, like this:
Student’s name
Sarah Palin
I worked on this assignment together with my
friends Frank Murkowski and Andrew Halcro. We
did the section about the “economics of political
campaigns” together which is why we have the
same answers for that section.
If you include this kind of explanation at the beginning of your homework, then I will accept
similar answers as a “good-faith” effort.
Econ 300: The Economy of Alaska, Spring 2008, Syllabus, page 11
Exam Arrangements
There will be a midterm and a final exam for this course. You have four different options for
when and where to take these exams:
1.
On the UAA Anchorage campus on the scheduled exam dates. These are Saturday
March 8 for the midterm and Saturday April 26 for the final. The exams will be given in
Rasmuson Hall (formerly BEB), from 9am to 5pm for both dates. A table will be set up
in the lobby to sign in. You must bring a picture ID. You may start the exam any time
after 9:00, but you must turn in your exam by 5:00. Be sure to allow enough time. Most
students find two hours sufficient, but you may wish to allow more time just to be sure.
2.
On the UAA Anchorage Campus at the Distance Education office between 8:00 and 5:00
during the week (Monday-Friday) before the scheduled exam date. The Distance
Education Office is in GHH room 101, near the Lucy Cuddy Center. You may “drop in”
any time during the week and take the exam without an appointment. You must bring a
picture id. Be sure to allow enough time. The office closes at 5:00, and they will collect
any exams students are taking when they close.
3.
From a University of Alaska Proctor at another UA site (such as the Mat-Su campus)
during the week (Monday-Friday) before the scheduled exam date. To take the exam
from a University of Alaska proctor, you need to go online to the Distance Education
Services “Student Resources” web page at:
http://www.uaa.alaska.edu/distanceeducation/student-resources/index.cfm.
and fill out the “Proctor Form Online” under “Student Resources” in the upper left hand
corner.
3.
From another proctor at another location during the week (Monday-Friday) before the
scheduled exam date. If you live outside Alaska or in a remote area you can make
arrangements for an alternate proctor. To do this, go to the Distance Education Services
“Student Resources” web page at:
http://www.uaa.alaska.edu/distanceeducation/student-resources/index.cfm.
and fill out the “Alternate Proctor Form” under “Student Resources” in the upper left
hand corner.
Information about these options for taking exams is also on page 7 of the UAA Distance
Education Services Office’s “Distance Education Student Guide.”
You are responsible for deciding where and when to take the midterm and final exams, and
making any necessary arrangements if you choose to take the exam from a University of Alaska
Proctor or an alternative proctor. If you have any questions about when and where you may take
exams, or how to make the arrangements, please contact the Distance Education Services Office
(not me), at distance@uaa.alaska.edu or 907-786-6177 or toll free at 1-888-553-2760 or 907786-4485 (fax).
Econ 300: The Economy of Alaska, Spring 2008, Syllabus, page 12
Exams
All of the questions on the midterm and final exams will be based on the posted topic exam
questions. The questions may not be written exactly the same, but if you can answer the posted
topic exam questions you should be able to do the actual exam questions.
All exam questions will be either multiple choice, short answers (a phrase or sentence), short
essays (1 paragraph) or long essays (1 page). “Multiple choice” and “short answer” questions
will generally be worth between 2 and 4 points. “Short essay” questions will generally be worth
between 5 and 10 points. “Long essay” questions will generally be worth between 10 and 25
points.
You may take as long as you want to work on the exams: there will be no time limits. In the
past, most students have finished the exams in between 1 and 2 ½ hours.
Online Discussions
There will be four “online discussions” for this course:
Practice Forum for the Blackboard Topic Assignment
Class Discussion
Rural Policy Discussion
Fiscal Policy Discussion
All of these discussions will use the “Discussion Board” feature of Blackboard. To read and
participate in these discussions, click on “Discussion Board” on the left side of your Blackboard
screen.
I will try to check these discussions once per day and respond to questions and comment on other
postings. However, there may be some days—especially when I am traveling—when I am not
able to check the discussions.
Practice Forum for the Blackboard Topic Assignment
The purpose of this discussion is to give you practice in using the Blackboard “Discussion
Board” feature, and also to allow you to introduce yourselves to your fellow students. This
discussion is explained in the “Blackboard” unit homework.
Class Discussion
The purpose of the Class Discussion is to help you understand the homework and the readings
and to prepare for the exams. Participation in this discussion is entirely optional. You may
ignore it for the entire semester, or you may use it to ask questions of me or other students about
topics related to the readings, homework and exam questions, or to make comments about the
course.
Econ 300: The Economy of Alaska, Spring 2008, Syllabus, page 13
You should use the Class Discussion for any questions you have relating to the course. You
might, for example, ask about how to do a particular homework problem that you don’t
understand, or even how to do a particular exam question. You may wish to use it to point out
errors in homework assignments or answers that I have posted.
In addition to answering students’ questions, I may also use the Class Discussion to point out
additional information related to particular topics. For example, from time to time I may explain
particular homework problems or other issues that students seem to be having difficulty with.
Thus, even if you do not have any questions of your own to post, you may wish to follow the
Class Discussion.
Rural Policy and Fiscal Policy Discussions
The Rural Policy and Fiscal Policy Discussions will be online discussions of important policy
questions Alaska is facing with regard to economic development of rural Alaska and state
revenues and expenditures. More information about these discussions will be posted under the
“RURAL” and “FISCAL” topics in Blackboard.
Course Deadlines and Calendar
I would prefer to teach this course without deadlines, so that you could work entirely at your own
pace. However, deadlines are necessary for several reasons:

I have to give the midterm and the final exams on the dates established by the Distance
Education Services office.

I want students to do the homework before I post homework answers. But I want to be able
to post homework answers so that students can have them to use in studying for the midterm
and final exams.

Some students need deadlines to keep on track. Otherwise they tend to put off the work
until it is too late.
There is a due date for each homework. These due dates will be shown in the “Course
Materials” folder in Blackboard. To get full credit for a homework assignment, the homework
must be submitted (uploaded to Blackboard) by 11:59 p.m. on the due date. You are responsible
for keeping track of homework deadlines and submitting all homework on time.
You may submit homework assignments late. You will receive a lower grade (as shown on the
“Homework Grading Rubric”). However, it is always well worth your while to submit a
homework even if it is late.
Except in very unusual circumstances, I will not give permission for assignments to be submitted
late without being graded down. Being sick or busy with other courses or traveling for a job or a
sport is not normally a valid excuse. With more 20 homework assignments about 80 students the
Econ 300: The Economy of Alaska, Spring 2008, Syllabus, page 14
course grader and I have about 1600 homework assignments to grade. It is too complicated to
try to consider special requests for extensions for submitting homework, especially given the
relatively small number of points at stake.
However, I recognize that serious emergency situations sometimes occur. If you feel that you
have experienced such a situation and wish to request permission for one or more assignments to
be submitted late without being graded down, send me an e-mail to
Gunnar.Knapp@uaa.alaska.edu. In the header write “Econ 300 Late Homework Permission
Request.” Give a brief explanation of what you are requesting and why. If I give you
permission, when you submit your homework assignment, copy my message into the
“Comment” box so that the grader or I can see it.
Topic unit surveys should be completed by the same deadlines as the homework. However, you
will still receive credit for these surveys if you do them later.
Econ 300: The Economy of Alaska, Spring 2008, Syllabus, page 15
Mon
Course Calendar for Econ 300: Economy of Alaska, Spring 2008
Note: Homework and surveys are due on the days shown. Topic names are in UPPER CASE. Homework is due at 11:59 p.m.
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
JAN 14
15
Class start date
16
17
18
19
20
Pre-test
BLACKBOARD
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
GEOGRAPHY
28
29
30
31
FEB 1
2
3
OVERVIEW
4
5
6
7
8
10
LANDS
DATA
11
12
13
14
15
9
Proctor forms due at
UAA Distance Ed
office
16
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
HISTORY
FEDERAL
25
26
27
28
29
MAR 1
2
OIL
3
Midterm may be
taken at UAA
Distance Ed. Office
10
(UAA Spring Break)
4
Midterm may be
taken at UAA
Distance Ed. Office
11
(UAA Spring Break)
5
Midterm may be
taken at UAA
Distance Ed. Office
12
(UAA Spring Break)
6
Midterm may be
taken at UAA
Distance Ed. Office
13
(UAA Spring Break)
7
Midterm may be
taken at UAA
Distance Ed. Office
14
(UAA Spring Break)
8
Midterm offered on
UAA campus, 9-5
9
(CURRENT I Survey)
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
FISCAL
STATE
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
MINING
SEAFOOD
31
APR 1
2
3
4
5
6
FOREST
TOURISM
TRANSPORT
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
SUPPORT
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
RURAL
21
Final may be taken
at UAA Distance
Education Office
28
22
Final may be taken
at UAA Distance
Education Office
29
23
Final may be taken
at UAA Distance
Education Office
30
24
Final may be taken
at UAA Distance
Education Office
MAY 1
25
Final may be taken
at UAA Distance
Education Office
2
26
Final offered on
UAA campus, 9-5
27
(CURRENT II survey)
3
4
[Commencement]
POPULATION
COST
Post-test
Course Evaluation
Survey
17
THEORY
No course work will
be acceptedshown
after Monday
Mayis 5potentially
at 11:59 p.m.
(one
MayCurrent
6 begins).
IMPORTANT!!
The information
in this table
subject
tominute
change before
during Tuesday
the semester.
information about due dates will be
posted for each unit in the "Course Materials" folder in Blackboard. Information posted in Blackboard always takes precedence over information in this
syllabus.
Econ 300: The Economy of Alaska, Spring 2008, Syllabus, page 16
Blackboard Announcements
Whenever you log onto the course in Blackboard, you should check for new announcements.
You are responsible for reading all announcements. Over the course of the semester there might
possibly be announcements of changes in deadlines, course requirements, exam requirements
and so forth.
Posting Grades
As you begin to submit homework, the course grader and I will begin posting grades in
Blackboard. You will be able to look at your grades using the Tools/View Grades feature of
Blackboard. There will usually be several days and sometimes 1-2 weeks between when you
submit a homework and when the course grader or I finish grading it and posting the grade.
Incompletes
I strongly discourage students from requesting grades of “Incomplete.” I am reluctant to give
them. I have found that many students who receive grades of incomplete never complete the
course, and after a period of time the University automatically changes their grade to an F.
However, I realize that circumstances sometimes arise which make it necessary for students to
request an incomplete. If you wish to request an incomplete, you should first contact me by email and explain why you are requesting an incomplete. Then you should fill out the Incomplete
Grade Contract which is posted in Blackboard under “Course Information” and mail it to me.
About Myself
I am a Professor of Economics at the University of Alaska Anchorage Institute of Social and
Economic Research (ISER).
I grew up in Maryland and received my B.A. in Economics from Yale University in 1975 and
my Ph.D. in Economics from Yale University in 1981. In 1981, I moved to Alaska and have
been working in my present job at ISER since that time. For most of the past twenty-five years, I
have been involved in research on the Alaska economy and Alaska resource management and
market issues. For the past fifteen years, I have increasingly specialized in research on Alaska
fisheries markets and management, and in particular on the world salmon market. For many
years, I have taught courses on the Economy of Alaska and Economics of Resources.
My detailed curriculum vitae and copies of some of my papers and presentations may be found
on my web site at:
www.iser.uaa.alaska.edu/iser/people/knapp
I speak German, Russian, French and Swedish and have traveled widely in connection with my
fisheries research. I am married to a lifelong Alaskan who is an elementary school librarian in
Anchorage, and I have three children, one in college and two in high school. In addition to
spending time with my family, I am actively involved in sports (cross-country skiing, running
and orienteering) and music (singing).
Econ 300: The Economy of Alaska, Spring 2008, Syllabus, page 17
Contacting Me
The two best options for contacting me are:


Post a question in the online “Class Discussion”
Send me an e-mail
Please use the following guidelines in deciding which option to use.

If my answer is likely to be of interest to at least some other students, then post a question
in the online Class Discussion. For example, if you don’t understand how to do a
particular homework questions, or are confused about the deadline for a particular
assignment, or are concerned about how long it will take to do the exam, these are
questions for which the answers might be of interest or relevance to other students. You
should ask them in the online “Class Discussion.”

If your question is personal, and the answer is not likely to be of interest to other
students, then send me an e-mail. For example, if you are facing a personal issue and
considering dropping the course, you should contact me by e-mail, as neither your
question nor my answer is relevant to other students.
Remember, if you are having problems with your computer or with Blackboard, you should not
be contacting me at all, but rather the Computer Services “call center”! If you want to ask a
question about how or where to take an exam, you should not be contacting me at all, but rather
the Distance Education Services office!
My e-mail address is Gunnar.Knapp@uaa.alaska.edu. ALWAYS start the “Subject” header with
“ECON300.” This is how I will know the message is from a student in this course. I receive
hundreds of e-mail messages each week, most of them spam. If you neglect to write
“ECON300” in the subject header, I may delete your message without reading it.
My telephone number is 786-7717. If I am not in, you can leave a voice mail message. Please
leave a detailed message, explaining what you are calling about and any questions you may have,
so that I can respond in case I reach your voice mail.
You are welcome to drop by my office for a visit. I enjoy talking with students in this course,
and regret that the distance education format doesn’t provide me an opportunity to get to know
most students. My office is located off-campus at the Institute of Social and Economic Research
(ISER), on the fifth floor of the Diplomacy Building. The Diplomacy Building is located at 4500
Diplomacy Drive, off of Tudor Road near the Alaska Native Medical Center. (Detailed
directions for how to find the Diplomacy Building are posted on my web site.) It is best to call
in advance to confirm that I will be there. I will be taking several trips out of state over the
course of the semester, and I often work out of my home, particularly in the mornings. Every
morning, I try to record a voice-mail announcement about when I will be in the office.
Econ 300: The Economy of Alaska, Spring 2008, Syllabus, page 18