Principles of Macroeconomics

Economics  202

Wenatchee Valley College

Winter Quarter 2021 – Line Item #1503

 

Instructor: Timothy D. Jeske, Ph.D.                                                           

 E-mail: Contact via Canvas email or send questions to TJeske@wvc.edu

Virtual Office Hour via Canvas Conference each weekday beginning January 5 from 11:00am - Noon.   You are welcome to join the conference meeting to ask questions of your instructor (keep in mind students from my other classes will also be dropping in for this virtual office hour).  Students may also contact me with your questions via the Canvas course email system.  I will usually respond within a few hours unless it is a weekend or you send an email after 5:00pm. 

Course Description

WVC Catalog: Study of the structure and operation of the U.S. economic system, including economic institutions, resources, price mechanisms, public finance, economic fluctuations, national income accounting, macroeconomic theory, fiscal policy, the banking system, monetary policy and economic growth.

This course examines the organization of and issues surrounding the modern U.S. macro economy.  Students will capture a glimpse of the development of fiscal and monetary policy, and the impact of economic policy on the business cycle, inflation, unemployment, and economic growth.    

This course fulfills five credits towards the social science distribution requirement towards completion of the Associate of Arts degree at Wenatchee Valley College.  

The social sciences are a collection of academic disciplines that use a variety of methods to investigate human behavior and culture. These methods share a commitment to explanations derived from observable, measurable, and verifiable phenomena. Claims of knowledge require such empirical evidence to be considered valid.  The social sciences generally are committed to employing knowledge for the improvement of the human condition.  In the context of American democracy, social scientists typically share a commitment to influencing public discussions and policies regarding individual liberty, social responsibility, and what constitutes a more just society.

Course Outcomes 

Required Texts:

Lucky you! Your e-textbook is free and a print version is available at very low cost! The book is available in a wide variety of free online formats via the website listed below. You can use the book in whichever format(s) you want; we recommend that you download the entire .pdf so that you always have access to your book.

Principles of Macroeconomics, from OpenStax College, ISBN 1938168259, https://cnx.org/contents/J_WQZJkO@9.2:3ZlSW1C7@6/Introduction

Course Organization: This course is organized into 14 learning modules divided into 4 main sections.  Each learning module has a series of assignments (homework, text sections, video lectures, and ends with the module chapter quiz.  You are to move through each module's content in sequential order.  Most modules are about 5 days in duration. 

Video Lectures: In each module are several video lectures that are required viewing.  You should treat these video lectures with the same importance as you would an in-class lecture from your instructor.  I have selected a variety of video sources but the primary series of video lectures are lectures from  PBS (Public Broadcasting Corporation) Crash Course: American Government.   There are also several miscellaneous video lectures that are assigned.  Take notes as you watch and listen to the lecture.  You are expected to cite/acknowledge information and ideas taken from these lectures into your homework assignments.  Citation is by lecture author and title  (e.g. Khan Academy - Markets) or  by series (e.g. Crash Course - Economics #4), or by lecture title (e.g. Gateways to Democracy) and if you directly quote or closely paraphrase from a video lecture you must provide the time from the lecture where the quotation/paraphrased words was taken (e.g. 2:37 - 2:55).  

Student Rights and Responsibilities

The Wenatchee Valley College's code of conduct states that the following is a violation of college rules:

The following acts by a student are considered academic misconduct and are prohibited:

1. Academic dishonesty—academic dishonesty occurs when students give or receive unauthorized assistance in an academic exercise or attempt to receive credit for work that is not their own.
2. Cheating—intentionally using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information or study aides in an academic exercise.
3. Fabrication—the intentional and unauthorized falsification or invention of any information or citation in an academic exercise.
4. Plagiarism—the deliberate adoption or reproduction of ideas or words or statements of another person as one’s own without acknowledgement.
5. Falsifying an exam, paper, projects, transcript, etc. (or assisting another student to do so).
6. Unauthorized use of materials or collaboration with another person during a test or assignment.
7. Substituting for a student, or permitting a substitute for oneself, to take an exam, course or test, or to provide the work for any assigned project. 

If the student is found to  being academically dishonest, s/he may receive an immediate failure and disciplinary action may be taken in accordance with the code procedures.  The 2019-20 WVC catalog and the most current copy of the WVC Code of Conduct  reviews your rights and responsibilities as a student.  

Class Attendance: Requirement and Policy

While this course is instructed on-line, my expectations for attendance are related to the student completing all of the assigned readings from your textbook, watching and taking notes of the assigned video lectures, completing quizzes and homework assignments on time, or before, the completion deadline, and, completing the examinations when scheduled.  As a general rule, I do not accept late work or allow students to complete assignments after they are due. 

Students are responsible for withdrawing themselves from the course. The instructor can administratively withdraw students who fail to attend class on a regular basis.  The last day to withdraw from the course is Wednesday, February 24,2021 The instructor will not give administrative withdrawals or an incomplete grade after February 24 unless there is a bona fide medical or family emergency and the student is currently passing the course.

STUDENT HOLIDAYS FOR FAITH OR CONSCIENCE POLICY

RCW 1.16.050 as amended by SS Bill 5173 provides that Wenatchee Valley College students are entitled to two days of excused absences per academic year for reasons of faith or conscience or for organized activities conducted under the auspices of a religious denomination, church, or religious organization.

Students' grades may not be adversely impacted by absences authorized under this policy. Each holiday taken under this policy must be taken as a whole day, i.e. the day may not be divided into hours and taken piecemeal.  The procedure for applying can be found at https://www.wvc.edu/humanresources/policies-procedures/400-student-services/400.610-student-holidays-for-faith.html

Graded Assignments: Subject to Change at Instructor's Discretion

Your final course grade will be determined from the satisfactory completion of the following graded assignments:

• 4 examinations; @ 50 points each = 200 points
• 14 Multiple-Choice quizzes; @ 20 points - 280 points. 
• 14 Homework assignments related to readings and video lectures;  14 @ 35 points = 490 points      
• Insurance - in the event you experience a technology problem that prevents your submission of an assignment/quiz/exam I have incorporated insurance points - 70 points at minimum - Your final course grade is based on the percent of 900 rather than the possible 970+ points.  These insurance points protect you should you miss an assignment or have a technology failure in the midst of an exam or quiz. Please do not request second chances for completing assignments - that is why I have added these insurance points.  Keep in mind, the presence of insurance points means that your canvas grade is an approximate grade and will be somewhat lower than your actual grade. 

About the examinations and quizzes: The fourteen quizzes are to be completed by the due date/time.  They are timed, and available for the student to attempt only one time.  Do not open the quiz until you are ready to take and complete the quiz.  Like the quizzes, exams will be timed but consist of questions requiring written free response or essay answers.  Three examinations are on-line.  The fourth  (and last) exam is an essay paper that will be assigned on November 30 and due by noon on December 8. Be sure when you take your quiz/exam that the technology you are using is reliable and take it when you won't be interrupted.  I will not allow another attempt at a quiz or an exam should your technology fail or you were interrupted during the quiz time; this is why I have created insurance points.  Of course, if you are unable to complete an assignment due to a technology problem caused by WVC or Canvas, you will have an opportunity to complete the assignment.    

About the Homework assignments: You will notice that the homework assignment is not timed like the quizzes – Canvas calls all graded assignments a “quiz”  - I have some timed quizzes, timed exams and then homework assignments.  The homework assignment only closes when you submit it or it closes at the due date/time.   

Open the homework assignment before you begin reading your textbook or watching the video lectures –  see the questions -  and proceed to read your text and watch the video lectures.  As you read and watch the lectures , take notes, and add ideas to draft answers for the homework.  Once you have finished the assigned reading and the module video lectures, complete the homework. Before you submit the assignment to be graded,  proofread for grammar and spelling and then ‘submit’ the homework before the due date/time.

Often students ask me what I am expecting from them in regards of acceptable responses for their homework assignment questions.  In general, I am looking for answers that meet the following criteria:

• the response was complete and demonstrates student comprehension of the question topic or subject,
• that all portions of the assigned question were addressed by the student,
• the response was correct (i.e. there are no factual, theoretical, or definitional errors in the response),
• the response appropriately used discipline-specific concepts,
• the response was properly referenced for citation of sources, and,
• the response was not undermined by writing errors such as spelling mistakes, sloppy grammar, capitalization issues, or improper punctuation.

Part of my responsibility as your instructor is to "coach" you on how to study and how to successfully navigate in this online course.  Here are some tips.

• Do not procrastinate!  Most of your learning modules are approximately 5 days.  There is enough content in each module that requires students to accomplish some of the module task every day.  Don't wait until the last day to complete the module; you won't have time to then complete the graded assignments and will be rushed.  No one does good work in a rush.  
• Plan - read at the module overview and plan what you will do each day of the week.  You must move through the module content in sequence.  
• Set aside time each day for study.  This class assumes you are spending approximately 20 hours per module so set aside 2-3 hours each day so that perhaps you can also take an occasional day off from your studies. 
• Although the graded assignments have due date/time deadlines you can also complete and submit your assignments before the due date/time.  
• I recommend reading the textbook chapter simultaneously with relevant video lectures.  The next best approach that works for some students is to read the chapter in its entirety then proceed to the video lectures. 
• Take notes!  Take notes as you watch the video lectures.  The great advantage of video lectures is that you can pause them - write your notes - resume.  You can also pause to look up definitions of new vocabulary.  Because the exams are not proctored you are welcome to refer to your notes when you are taking your timed exams. 
• Because the module content is in sequential order, you cannot skip a module assignment in order to open and complete a graded  assignment such as a quiz.  Many times students try to open a quiz and it is locked - it is locked because you have not completed prior module tasks. 
• This course is writing intensive.  You are expected to use college-level writing.  I do deduct points for writing errors such as sloppy grammar, punctuation errors, spelling errors, and capitalization errors.  Do not submit an assignment until you have proofread it and corrected the found writing errors.  I have provided you a summary of my "Writing Pet Peeves" .   Please observe the rules in this document.  I am more lenient on your exams where you do not have the luxury of time to carefully proofread and edit.  
• You will need to download the Respondus Lockdown Browser for your device in order to take the quizzes and examination.  Here is the link - Link
• Check and be sure your technology devise is compatible with the Respondus Lockdown browser.   Do this before you attempt to take the first quiz.  The best way is to download the browser.  If it isn't compatible with your device, find a solution.  Chromebook is not always compatible with Respondus.  There is a beta version of this browser to place on Chromebook devices. You may need to rent a compatible devise from WVC. 

Grade Scale

The following percentage scale based on 900 points (note there are a minimum of 70 insurance points included in this course) determines your final grade:

100% - 94% = A  

93.9% - 90% = A-

89.9% - 87% = B+        

86.9% - 83% = B 

82.9% - 80% = B-

79.9% - 77% = C+        

76.9% - 73% = C 

72.9% - 70% = C-

69.9% - 67% = D+        

66.9% - 60% = D 

59.9% - 0%   = F