Hagerstown Community College
OFFICIAL COURSE SYLLABUS DOCUMENT
COURSE: ECO 202 Microeconomic Principles
SEMESTER/YEAR: Fall 2014
INSTRUCTOR: Lori Spessard
CONTACT INFORMATION: Email: ljspessard@hagerstowncc.edu
Office: LRC 113
Phone: 240-500-2458
Office Hours: MTWR 10:15 – 11:30 AM
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Microeconomics is the study of decision units within the total economy:
consumers, producers, and the government. Topics include supply and demand theory, profit and cost
analysis, consumer behavior, antitrust, labor markets, income distribution, poverty, and government
regulation. Total 45 hours of lecture. Prerequisites: ENG 099 and MAT 098.
TEXTBOOK: Taylor, T. (2014). Principles of Economics. OpenStax College.
ISBN-10: 1-938168-23-2
ISBN-13: 978-1-938168-23-9
Available for download at https://openstaxcollege.org/textbooks/principles-of-economics/get
Sapling Learning Online Homework access code
ISBN 978-0-9833859-6-7
The textbook is available free of charge. The Sapling Learning access code is required if you are in an
online or hybrid section of the course; it is optional for all face-to-face sections. The Sapling access
code can be purchased at our bookstore or online. Details about access will be handed out in class or
sent via HCC student email.
STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
 Explain how the concepts of scarcity, incentives, opportunity cost, and marginal analysis affect
economic decision making.
 Analyze the role of supply, demand, and prices in a market economy and the necessary
conditions for a market economy to function well.
 Describe and analyze theory and policy related to microeconomic issues.
 Use economic terminology, concepts and theories to analyze “real world” scenarios and current
events.
General Education Outcomes:
The student will be able to:
 Critically analyze and evaluate issues derived from the Social Sciences utilizing appropriate
methodologies.
 Demonstrate how culture, society, and diversity shape the role of the individual within society
and human relations across cultures.
ECO 202 Microeconomics
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REQUIREMENTS: The textbook is required. Access to the internet is required for downloading the
etext, accessing the Moodle and Sapling course sites, and using email.
ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES:
Your final grade will be based on the following:
Exams
Quizzes
Field report (F2F and hybrid)
or Discussion Board (online)
60%
25%
15%
Exams and quizzes will cover material from the book, but may also include additional material covered
in the class (activities, additional readings, current events, etc.). Field reports and discussions involve
researching and reporting on current economic events or data. Problem sets will be available from
Sapling Learning. Additional details for all assignments will be provided in class and on Moodle.
COURSE POLICIES:
Total Hours of Coursework: This is a three-credit, college-level course. To earn one academic credit
at HCC, students are required to complete a minimum of 37.5 clock hours (45 fifty-minute “academic”
hours) of coursework per semester. Those hours of coursework may be completed through a
combination of hours within the classroom and hours outside the classroom. Certain courses may
require more than the 37.5 minimum hours of coursework per credit.
For most classes, students should expect to do at least 2 hours of coursework outside of class
for each hour of in-class coursework. You should expect to spend about six hours per week outside of
class in order to succeed.
Attendance Policy: Students are expected to actively participate in this course and adhere to the
course schedule. In the case of absence due to emergency (illness, death in the family, accident), or
participation in official College functions, it is the student’s responsibility to confer with the instructor
about the absence and missed course work. Further, it is the student’s responsibility to withdraw
officially from any class which he/she ceases to attend. Failure to do so will result in the recording of
an “F” grade. The College’s attendance policy can be found in the College Catalog.
Late or missed assignments: If you experience an emergency (as defined in Attendance Policy
above), and miss an exam, contact your instructor as soon as possible. Under emergency circumstances
only, you may be given a make-up exam at the discretion of the instructor. Quizzes cannot be made up,
but your lowest score will be dropped. Field reports and discussions are subject to a late penalty of
10% per calendar day.
Academic Integrity: The HCC Student Code of Conduct is published in the HCC College Guide: A
Handbook Planner for Students and may be obtained in the Student Activities Office. The Code of
Conduct includes principles, rights, and prohibited conduct related to academic integrity and due
process. Academic dishonesty will be dealt with in accordance with the College’s policies and
procedures.
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Services for Students with Special Needs: Students who have special needs are encouraged to
identify themselves to the Coordinator of Disability Services as early as possible. Reasonable
accommodations based on current documentation are provided to qualified students. For more
information, contact Jaime Bachtell, Coordinator of Disability Services, at 240-500-2273 or
jlbachtell@hagerstowncc.edu.
Once approved by the coordinator, it is your responsibility to communicate directly with the instructor
about the accommodations you require.
The instructor reserves the right to modify the course content, schedule, and/or assessment
procedures as deemed necessary.
TOPICAL OUTLINE:
MODULE 1: Economic Foundations and
Microeconomic Theory
What Is Economics?
Supply and Demand
Labor and Financial Markets
Elasticity
Consumer Choices
MODULE 2: Market Structures
Cost and Industry Structure
Perfect Competition
Monopolistic Competition and Oligopoly
Monopoly and Antitrust Policy
MODULE 3: Microeconomic Policy Issues
Negative and Positive Externalities
Poverty and Income Inequality
Labor and Financial Markets Revisited
Information, Risk & Insurance
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ACCOUNTING FOR CREDIT HOUR REQUIREMENT
For face-to-face class:
Assignment/Assessment
In-class instruction
Assigned readings & sample
problems
Clock Hours
57
Time spent in class
Reading, note-taking, practicing sample problems,
etc.
Quizzes
15
Study time plus time to complete quizzes
Exams
17
Study time plus time to complete exams
Field report
8
Research, writing, presentation, etc.
Total hours
37.5
Explanation
134.5
For online class:
Assignment/Assessment
Online homework and activities
Assigned readings & sample
problems
57
Explanation
Time spent on a variety of online learning tools
Reading, note-taking, practicing sample problems,
etc.
Quizzes
15
Study time plus time to complete quizzes
Exams
17
Study time plus time to complete exams
Discussions
8
Research, writing, responding to classmates, etc.
Total hours
ECO 202 Microeconomics
Clock Hours
37.5
134.5
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