HOMEWORK, QUIZZES, AND EXAMS

1.   On-line Homework Assignments

There will be 14 homework assignments students must complete on the Internet site MyEconLab. Students will have the chance to work and rework these assignments right up until their deadlines.

All assignments must be turned in on time. No late work will be accepted.

The average of these homework assignments will be worth 15% of the course grade.

However students should note two things about this average:
First: Since students can rework these assignments as many times as they want to, they should be able to make 100% on them if they start on them well before the deadline approaches.
Second: The two lowest grades on the homework will be dropped before the twelve highest are averaged.

Homework assignments are practice assignments. They are assigned to help students grasp the material in the associated chapter and to prepare students for the quizzes and texts.

2.   On-line Quizzes:

There will be 14 Chapter Quizzes associated with the 14 Homework assignments.

The Quizzes will not be timed, and students will have more than one chance to take them.In other words, students will have the chance to work on the quizzes right up until their deadlines.

All Quizzes must be completed by their deadlines. No late work will be accepted.

The average grade on the quizzes will be worth 10% of the course grade. This average will be calculated after removing the two lowest quiz grades.

3.   Two Tests:

In addition to chapter Homework Assignments and Quizzes, there will be two tests. Each test will weigh 25 percent of the course grade.

4.   Comprehensive Final Exam:

There will also be a Comprehensive Final Exam set by the Economics Department. This exam will be taken in class and will weigh 25 percent of the course grade.

Below is a schedule showing the deadlines for Homework Assignments and Quizzes as well as the exam dates throughout the semester. 

DEADLINES FOR
Homework Assignments and Quizzes
On MyLab/Mastering over chapters from
Macroeconomics, 10th Edition by Michael Parkin

Note: On MyEconLab the points for homework assignments quizzes are always 100 points (or 100%). MyEconLab reports the percentage correct you have made on the homework and the quizzes. The two lowest percentage grades from both the homework and the quizzes will be dropped. The remaining percentage grades for both the homework and the quizzes will be averaged. These averages will then be given the weight assigned for each component in the classes grading system: 15% for homework, and 10% for quizzes.

1.  Required Textbook:   Macroeconomics (10^thEdition), by Michael Parkin, (Prentice Hall, 2012).

2.  MyEconLab:

Students will also be required to register for MyEconLab--an online system that students will access to complete and submit homework assignments and quizzes. MyEconLab gives students the tools they need to learn from their mistakes right at the moment they are struggling. The following are MyEconLab online features that students will find beneficial:

      1.  Personalized Study Plan

A Study Plan is generated from each student's results on Sample Tests and instructor assignments. Students can clearly see which topics they have mastered-and, more importantly, which they need to work on. The Study Plan links to additional practice problems and tutorial exercises to help on those topics.

      2.  Unlimited Practice

Many Study Plan and instructor-assigned exercises contain algorithmically generated values, ensuring students get as much practice as they need. Every problem links students to learning resources that further reinforce concepts they need to master.

     3.  Learning Resources

In the lower-left corner of each practice problem is a link to the eText page discussing the very concept being applied. Students also have access to guided solutions, animated graphs, audio narratives, flashcards, and live tutoring. MyEconLab has a suite of graphing tools for practice and current news articles that tie chapter topics to everyday issues.

    4.  Test and Other Assignments

MyEconLab comes with two pre-loaded Sample Tests for each chapter so students can self-assess their understanding of the material. Instructors can assign these Sample Tests or create assignments using a mix of publisher-supplied content and their own custom exercises.

Principles of Macroeconomics deals with consumers as a whole, producers as a whole, the effects of government spending and taxation policies and the effects of monetary policy carried out by the Federal Reserve Bank. Additionally, Macroeconomics is concerned with unemployment, inflation, and the business cycle. The following schedule reflects the course subjects that will be discussed in each lecture:

LECTURING SCHEDULE

If we fall behind the proposed schedule below, exams will only be over the material we covered in class. However the dates the exams are set to be given will not change.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012: Last Day of this Class.

Common Course Objectives/Student Outcomes as Established by the Economics Department: 

Students who complete this course will be able to understand:

• the meaning of unemployment and inflation data and how that data is collected and computed;
• the meaning and components of the National Income Accounts, especially GDP;
• the meaning of the business cycle and its phases;
• the manipulation of the basic Aggregate Supply and Aggregate Demand models of the macro economy;
• how fiscal policy operates, its tools, its advantages and drawbacks;
• how a reserve banking system works;
• how monetary policy operates, its tools, and its advantages and drawbacks.

 Learning Objectives/Outcomes as Established by the author of the textbook used for this course and by the instructor: 

Additional learning objectives will be discussed in class at the beginning of each chapter in the textbook.