Course   Objectives:   This   course   provides   an   understanding   of  the   basic   principles   of macroeconomics. In this course, we will study economic topics that you often hear about in the media  such  as  inflation, unemployment,  interest rates, national  income,  exchange rates, the balance of payment, the financial markets, business cycles, and so forth. We will also study how monetary and fiscal policies are used to stabilize economic activity.

This course is not open to students with Econ 204

Required Textbook: Exploring Macroeconomics5th Canadian Edition by Sexton / Fortura /Kovacs Course Location, Days & Time: This course will be delivered asynchronously.

•   At the beginning of every week a set of recorded lecture videos will be posted on eClass. This gives flexibility to each student to watch the lecture at his/her convenience and to accommodate the difference in the time zone for students who are not in Canada.

•   Students are urged to watch the lecture videos and read the posted lecture notes on the course website (eClass).

•   Sample questions and practice past exams with their answer key will be made available on eClass.

Important Dates:

•   First Day of Class: January 5

•   Add/Delete Date: January 18

•   Last day of Class: April 12

•   Winter term reading week: February 21-24

Course Outline

Evaluation

The evaluation in this course will be based on the following table:

eClass quizzes

There will be a total of five online multiple-choice open book quizzes posted on eClass. You will have 1 hour to answer the quiz. A quiz will be open from 8:00 AM to 11:59 PM Edmonton time and you can do the quiz any time during this window and before 11:00 PM Edmonton time to get the full  1hour. Late submission of a quiz after its due date will not be accepted. There is no replacement for a missed quiz and the student will receive a grade of zero in case of a late/no submission.

Quiz 1: (Covers chapters 5 and 6).

Quiz 2: (Covers chapters 7 and 8).

Quiz 3: (Covers chapters 9 and 10)

Quiz 4: (Covers chapters 11 and 12).

Quiz 5: (Covers chapter 13 and 15).

Tests

There will be one midterm test worth 36% of the final grade. There is no replacement for a missed  midterm  test.  If you  missed  the  midterm  test,  its  weight  would  be automatically transferred to the final exam, and you will get an Excused Absence (EA) for that midterm test.

A  student  who  misses  the  final  exam  because  of illness  or  any  other  compelling  reason (including religious conviction) or technical difficulties in using the remote proctoring software may apply for a deferred final exam. Students seeking a deferred exam need to apply to their Faculty. The instructor does not have the authority to approve such applications.

NOTE: Both the Midterm and Final exams are closed book and will be remotely proctored

and will be online through eClass.

The Midterm test is a multiple-choice test, about 60 minutes in length.

The final exam is cumulative covering  all  the  materials  and  will  also  be multiple-choice questions. The final exam will be for about 120 minutes in length.

Deferred Final Examination: For information on how to apply for a deferred exam see

https://www.ualberta.ca/arts/media-library/student-services/documents/i-missed-my-exam-now- what.pdf

Note: students must apply to their home faculty for permission to write a deferred final exam.

Warning: “Transferring the weight of the missed midterm exam to the Final exam could result in the student not being approvedfor a deferredfinal examination as they may not have completed the required 50% of term work.” This means that if you missed the midterm exam you should not miss thefinal exam too.

Note:

•   System          requirements          link: https://www.ualberta.ca/information-services-and technology/services/software-hardware-vendors/technology-requirements.html

•    There is an alternative way to access UofA email. Details are available here: Email and Calendaring | Information Services and Technology

• For both the midterm and final exams we shall use the software Smart Exam Monitor (SEM). Check   the   system   requirement   and   how   to   take   the   practice   link   here:

https://support.ctl.ualberta.ca/index.php?/Knowledgebase/Article/View/434/1/using-smart- exammonitor-sem---students

•   Should you experience technical difficulty with SEM, please contact the eClass support team: [email protected] or calling (780) 492-9372.

• "If we do not have a SEM recording of your full exam, it will not be accepted"

•    Smart Exam Monitor computing requirements: SEM requires the following for use:

Basic Requirements:

- Chrome browser

- Webcam

- Functional microphone

- Device: Laptop, desktop, or Chromebook (tablets and iPads are not supported)

- Operating system: OSX, Windows, ChromeOS

- Fully charged device and/or power supply

The tool is accessed through eClass and runs in a browser window (no software installation is required.) Users are required to validate and grant permission to their webcam, microphone, and  grant  permission  for  screen  recording.  See  the  following  link  for  detailed setup instructions.

Final grade

You could access your final grade on Bear Tracks.

University Grading System

“Grades reflect judgments of student achievement made by instructors. These judgments are based on a combination of absolute achievement and relative performance in class.” 23.4(4) University of Alberta Calendar.

Thefollowing table might be used to translate the numerical grade to a letter grade.