Wake Technical Community College
Business Technologies Division
Course Syllabus: Principles of Microeconomics; ECO 251 (Online)
Fall 2013
Instructor:
Office location:
Telephone:
E-mail:
Office hours:
Class
Online
days/times/location:
Required Text/Supplies
Textbook:
PRINCIPLES OF MICROECONOMICS, 6th EDITION
N. Gregory Mankiw
Thomson Southwestern
Access to web-based Aplia for homework problem sets
ISBN: 1111959404 (9781111959401)
Supplies/Software
Must have access to a computer which can view Windows Media Files.
Course Entry Quiz:
This course is being taught in an online or hybrid format. In order to remain enrolled in
the course, each student is required to open the Course Entry Quiz from the menu on
the left and complete the quiz by 11:59 PM on August 22, 2013. Students who do
not complete the Course Entry Quiz by the deadline will be dropped from the course
with no tuition refund.
Course Usage of Blackboard or Moodle
Copies of the course syllabus and major assignments may be found on Blackboard or
Moodle. You are responsible for regularly checking the online resources, which are
accessed through http://dist-ed.waketech.edu (opens in a new window) or
http://moodle.waketech.edu (opens in a new window).
Course Description
This course introduces economic analysis of individual, business, and industry choices
in the market economy. Topics include the price mechanism, supply and demand,
optimizing economic behavior, costs and revenue, market structures, factor markets,
income distribution, market failure, and government intervention. Upon completion,
students should be able to identify and evaluate consumer and business alternatives in
order to efficiently achieve economic objectives.
Course Goals
• Introduce basic microeconomic principles.
• Encourage critical thinking in evaluating the benefits and costs associated with
various economic pursuits.
• Provide a better understanding of the allocation of limited resources amongst
many alternative uses.
Student Learning Objectives
At the conclusion of the course the student should be able to:
• Define economics and explain basic economic concepts, including but not limited
to: scarcity, price mechanism, ceteris paribus, tradeoffs, opportunity cost, factors
of production, marginal analysis, and invisible hand.
• Conduct static analysis using supply and demand graphical analysis.
• Explain how the interaction of supply and demand determines prices in both the
product and resource markets.
• Explain, with the support of graphs, price elasticity of demand and supply and
identify four factors that affect price elasticity.
• Locate consumer surplus and producer surplus on a supply and demand graph
• Demonstrate why all quantities other than the equilibrium quantity fail to
maximize total surplus in a market
• Distinguish between a positive and a negative externality
• Demonstrate why the optimal quantity and the market quantity differ in the
presence of an externality
• Demonstrate the potential equality of a corrective tax and pollution permits
• Explain and illustrate with graphs how costs change as output levels change, as
well as how costs differ from the short run and the long run.
• Characterize perfectly competitive markets and explain the conditions associated
with profit-maximizing behavior in both the short and long run.
• Characterize a monopolist and explain how such a firm maximizes profit.
• Contrast monopolistic competitors from oligopolies.
Prerequisite(s) None
Co requisite(s) None
Credit Hours 3 Credit Hours
Assignments and Grading Policy
Due dates and assignments can be found on the course schedule/outline.
Quizzes
10%
Assignments
Discussion
Mid – term Exam
Final Exam
20%
20%
25%
25%
100%
A = 90-100 B = 80-89 C = 70-79 D = 60-69 F = 59 or less
Final Exam Date/Time/Location (TBA)
College Policies and Campus Resources
Email Policy
Wake Tech requires that every student use the provided my.waketech.edu e-mail
account for all school related correspondence. Your instructors will not respond to email from any other source. Do not forward my.waketech.edu e-mail to other accounts.
Replies sent from most forwarded e-mail will not appear to come from your
my.waketech.edu account and will not be acknowledged by your instructor. This is a
strictly enforced school policy. Please review e-mail information carefully. If you have
questions or concerns regarding your Wake Tech e-mail, contact Distance Education
Support for guidance.
Student Concerns:
For a student complaint or grievance, BPST Division instructors follow the guidelines in
the Wake Tech Student Handbook.
• The first step for resolving the situation is generally for the student to communicate
concerns or complaints with the instructor, outside of class time.
• As a follow-up step, the student may contact the Department Head or Associate
Department Head, if applicable.
• If the matter remains unresolved, the student should contact the Dean of the Business
and Public Services Technologies Division. Students need to be prepared to explain the
particular area of disagreement with the decision of the instructor and Department or
Associate Department Head to the BPST Dean.
Code of Conduct
It is the student's responsibility to abide by Wake Tech's Student Code of Conduct
(opens in a new window) http://handbook.waketech.edu/files/studentrights.pdf
Free Adobe Acrobat PDF reader download opens in a new window
http://get.adobe.com/reader/?promoid=BUIGO. Violation of the Student Code of
Conduct will result in disciplinary action. The Code of Conduct includes the Academic
Integrity Policy.
Attendance Policy
It is the student’s responsibility to abide by the Wake Tech Attendance Policy (opens in
a new window) http://catalog.waketech.edu/pdfs/WakeTechCatalog.pdf (p. 39).
Disability Support Services
Disability Support Services is available for students who require academic
accommodations due to any physical, psychological, or learning disability. To
determine eligibility, contact the office at 124 Holding Hall or call 866-5670 (TDD 779-
0668). Disability Support Services web page (opens in a new window)
http://disabilityservices.waketech.edu/
Core Values
In keeping with the college’s mission statement, this course will promote Wake Tech’s
core institutional values.
Accountability
Accountability is essential for an environment of learning. Those who are accountable
stand by their words and actions, taking full responsibility for what they create and for
what they contribute to the community.
Respect
Respect is a prerequisite for enhancing learning. Community members who respect
themselves and others help create a safe, yet open, climate of learning.
Responsibility
Instructor and students will foster an environment that actively promotes taking
responsibility for one’s actions and obligations.
Critical Thinking
Instructor and students will strive actively to improve the critical thinking skills of
analysis, synthesis, and evaluation-both in academics and in everyday actions.
Communication
Instructor and students will strive actively to ensure clear understanding in both written
and oral communications.
Collaboration
Instructor and students will strive to develop collaborative skills required in achieving
team goals.
Course Outline/Schedule (ECO 252 Online)
You should work on each chapter over a period of a week. For the Assignments you have
to use web-based Aplia Assignments. Note that we have to cover 13 Chapters in 16
Weeks. A week for this course is from Friday to Friday and you have to work on 3
things in each Module, 1. Aplia Assignment for the Chapter, 2.Discussion
Board 3. Quiz for the Chapter All modules are due at 11:45 p.m. on the due date.
Mark these dates on a printed calendar that you keep in front of you day-today.
(Note: subject to change with fair notice.) List the agenda for the semester.
Wee
k
Date
Topics, Readings, Assignments, Deadlines
You should work on each chapter over a period of a week. For
the Assignments you have to use web-based Aplia Assignments.
Note that we have to cover 13 Chapters in 16 Weeks. A week for
this course is from Friday to Friday and you have to work on
3 things in each Module, 1. Aplia Assignment for the
Chapter, 2.Discussion Board 3. Quiz for the
ChapterAll modules are due at 11:45 p.m. on the due date
1
08/16/13
to
08/23/13
Module 1; Introduction: Introduction, Course
Syllabus, Blackboard Information. Course Entry Quiz.
2
08/23/13
to
08/30/13
Module 2; Chapter 01: Ten Principles of Economics
3
08/30/13
to
09/06/13
Module 3; Chapter 02: Thinking Like An Economist
4
09/06/13
to
09/13/13
Module 4; Chapter 03: Interdependence and the Gains
from Trade
5
09/13/13
to
09/20/13
Module 5; Chapter 04: The Market Forces of Supply
and Demand
6
09/20/13
to
09/27/13
Module 6; Chapter 05: Elasticity and Its Application
7
09/27/13
to 10/11/13
Module 7; Chapter 06:Supply, Demand and
Government Policies
8
10/11/13 to
10/18/13
Module 8; Mid-term Exam: Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, & 6.
9
10/18/13
to
10/25/13
Module 9; Chapter 07: Consumers, Producers, and the
Efficiency of Markets
10
10/25/13
to 11/01/13
Module 10; Chapter 10: Externalities
Wee
k
Date
Topics, Readings, Assignments, Deadlines
You should work on each chapter over a period of a week. For
the Assignments you have to use web-based Aplia Assignments.
Note that we have to cover 13 Chapters in 16 Weeks. A week for
this course is from Friday to Friday and you have to work on
3 things in each Module, 1. Aplia Assignment for the
Chapter, 2.Discussion Board 3. Quiz for the
ChapterAll modules are due at 11:45 p.m. on the due date
11
11/01/13 to
11/08/13
Module 11; Chapter 13: The Cost of Production
12
11/08/13
to 11/15/13
Module 12; Chapter 14: Firms in Competitive Markets
13
11/15/13 to
11/22/13
Module 13; Chapter 15: Monopoly
14
11/22/13
Module 14; Chapter 16: Monopolistic Competition
to 11/29/13
15
11/29/13 to Module 15; Chapter 17: Oligopoly
12/06/13
16
12/06/13
Module 16; Final Exam: Chapters 07, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, &
to 12/13/13 17.