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Economics 201: Introduction to Microeconomics

Fall 2021


Welcome!

The purpose of this document is to describe what you can expect this semester. I will begin by stating my main goal for the semester: I want everyone to succeed in this class! Whatever your background, I want you to know that you belong here, and you can succeed in this course. The Office of Admissions would not have admitted you otherwise.

I am here to help you. I have regular office hours and am also available by appointment. I check my e-mail regularly, including the night before exams. I will do my best to prepare you for the midterms and final exam. Please let me know if there is anything else I can do to help you succeed. So, let’s work together to make sure that everyone learns some economics and has some fun!


Course Overview

Microeconomics is all about choices. In this course, we will look at how individuals, firms, and governments make choices. Some of these choices are:

● Should McDonalds bring back the McRib?

● What kind of car should you buy?

● Do football coaches punt too often?

● Why do airplane tickets get more expensive as the date of the flight approaches?

● Should Office Depot and Staples be allowed to merge?

● Should the minimum wage be increased?

We will use a combination of arithmetic, graphs, and intuition to answer these types of questions.


Textbook

We will be using Principles of Microeconomics by Betsy Stevenson and Justin Wolfers as our textbook. You are required to purchase online access to the Macmillan’s Achieve product associated with this course.


Lectures

The lectures were recorded by Dr. Ackermann during 2020 and 2021. The video lectures and corresponding slide shows are available on D2L.


Graded Components

  Item
  Percentage
  Three highest exam scores
  60%
  Completion-graded homework assignments
  20%
  Accuracy-graded homework assignments
  20%


Exams

There will be a total of four exams – three midterm exams and a final exam. The midterm exams are on October 6, November 8, and December 10. Each exam will start at 7:00 p.m. (U.S. Eastern Time) and last for 50 minutes. The final exam is on December 16 from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. (U.S. Eastern Time). Only your three highest exam scores will count toward your course grade. This formulation is intended to address issues such as illnesses or other emergencies, as well as if you just have a bad test day. Moreover, this allows students who are satisfied with their grade after taking three midterms to skip the final exam. If you opt to do this, you do not need to let me know – when you skip the final exam, it will be scored as a zero and automatically dropped.

If you must miss an exam for reasons that can be anticipated (university-sponsored activities, religious observances, and other valid issues), an alternative exam time will be offered for the days before an exam. Reasons that can be anticipated must be conveyed to the instructor at least one week before the scheduled exam. No make-up exams will be given after an exam. If you do not take an exam, that will be the exam that is dropped when I calculate your final course grade. If you believe you have had issues with multiple exams that require special consideration, you must fully document the multiple issues and schedule an appointment with me to discuss. Unless there were legitimate and documented excuses that have kept you from multiple exams (a situation that will be rare), further accommodations will not be provided.

All exams will be administered via D2L using a lockdown browser and remote proctoring service. Students must have access to a webcam and microphone. The system is compatible with Windows (10, 8, 7), Mac (MacOS 10.15 to 10.12, OS X 10.11, OSX 10.10), and iPad (iOS 11.0+). The system is not compatible with Chromebooks. Alternate arrangements must be approved by the instructor within the first week of the course.

Time Policy: To ensure each student has the same amount of time, all exam time cutoffs are strict.

Request for Accommodations: If you are eligible for an accommodation, please contact the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities (RCPD) as soon as possible. Once RCPD has certified that you are eligible for an accommodation, please e-mail your VISA to the course inbox.


Homework

This semester we will cover approximately 17 chapters. Each chapter has four associated assignments. Two of these assignments are graded on completion. For these assignments, you typically need to come up with a correct answer, but you have unlimited attempts at the assignment and are told when your answers are incorrect. These assignments are intended to help you learn the material. The other two assignments for each chapter are graded for accuracy. For these assignments, you will not see your score until after the assignment due date. I encourage you to work together on these assignments. These assignments are intended to evaluate how well you have learned the material. They also contain questions that are very similar to the questions you will see on exams.

There will be a total of 34 completion-graded assignments and 34 accuracy-graded assignments. For each assignment type, the 4 lowest grades will be dropped. Then, for each assignment type, the remaining assignments will be equally weighted. The dropped assignments are intended to account for illness, forgetfulness, travels, and computer issues. Because you will always be given several days to complete each assignment, the cutoff times are firm. I recommend you complete the modules before the due date so that you have plenty of time to resolve any issues that arise.

Each assignment will be due at 11:59 p.m. (U.S. Eastern Time) on a Sunday. No late assignments are accepted.


Course Grade

Course grade cutoffs are shown below:

  Transcript Grade
  Minimum Course Grade
  4.0
  89.00
  3.5
  82.00
  3.0
  74.00
  2.5
  67.00
  2.0
  58.00
  1.5
  55.00
  1.0
  52.00

Please note that these cutoffs are strict. If you have a score of 81.99, you will receive a grade of 3.0. Because this course is so large, no matter what cutoff I use, there will be people who missed out on a higher grade by a fraction of a percentage point.

While the exams are not curved, you have two things working in your favor when it comes to your course grade. First, I expect the completion-based assignment scores to have a median score of 100%. Second, course grade cutoffs are likely lower (more generous) than you see in other classes.


Grading Issues

All grading issues must be raised within one week of when your grade is provided to you. However, no grade changes will be made more than 24 hours after your final course grade is posted. Because all grading is done by computer, mistakes are very rare, and it is unlikely that your grade will be adjusted.


Honor Code

Your behavior is governed by the Spartan Code of Honor. If you do not yet understand your responsibilities under this code, I urge you to go to http://splife.studentlife.msu.edu/spartan-code-of-honor-academic-pledge to learn more. I will do my best to discourage cheating by actively proctoring exams, but there is a limit to what I can do. Ultimately, you should recognize that nothing we do in this course is worth jeopardizing your integrity over.


Course Policies

I will strictly follow course policies, simply because it is not fair to deviate from these policies for some while applying them to others. If you believe you have circumstances that warrant special consideration, I will listen to your circumstances. However, I have designed the course to cover most situations (e.g., all students will have one exam score dropped), so I anticipate needing to accommodate very few special requests.

I am always happy to explain the reasoning behind any course policy. Most of these policies are rooted in the fact that I have about 1,300 students this semester. I strive to be objective and treat everyone fairly.


Administrative Matters

I occasionally will tell you information related to course administration. For example, I may extend the deadline of a homework assignment. You are responsible for any material which is (a) in the syllabus, (b) sent to you via e-mail, or (c) included in class slides. I will typically convey this sort of information multiple times.

There is a folder on D2L called “Administrative”. It contains the course syllabus, a help room schedule, and other administrative materials.

Please do not ask me or a teaching assistant an administrative question that could be answered by looking at the syllabus, an e-mail, the class slides, or the “Administrative” folder on D2L.


E-mails

If you are uncertain of a matter related to course administration (for example, if you do not know when a homework assignment is due), please take the following steps

1) Check the syllabus

2) Check the syllabus again, just in case

3) Check your e-mails from me and the teaching assistants

4) Review the class slides that have been posted and your notes on slides that have not yet been posted

5) Ask a friend

6) Email the course inbox at MSUec201online@gmail.com. Make sure to include your section number in the e-mail.

Please do not send me e-mails related to course administration. E-mail the course inbox at [email protected]. If you send me an e-mail that asks a question which has been answered in class, in the syllabus, or in an e-mail, you may not receive a prompt reply. I try to answer all my e-mails in a timely manner, but these administrative-type e-mails definitely fall lower on my priority list. So, if you asked me an administrative question in an e-mail and have not received a reply, try e-mailing the course inbox. This box is closely monitored, and all e-mails that need my response will be forwarded to me.

Okay, now that we’ve gotten through that unpleasant bit, I want to make it clear that I love receiving e-mails from students! Below are just a few of the many reasons when it would be great for you to e-mail me:

● You did not understand something in lecture

● You are having trouble solving a practice problem

● You want to talk about something you saw in the news

● You want to talk about something generally related to economics but outside the scope of this course

● You want help preparing for the next exam

● You want general advice pertaining to this course, taking additional economics courses, or college in general

● You have an idea for a research project

● You just want to introduce yourself

You have a good joke to tell.

These are also great reasons to schedule a meeting during office hours.

Please include your section number in all e-mail correspondence.


Teaching Assistants

There are several teaching assistants for the course. Please give each of them all the respect you would give me and assume everything they tell you comes from me.


Help Rooms

The Economics Help Rooms offer academic support to students enrolled in this course. In Help Rooms, students may receive assistance in a number of areas, including completing homework and practice problems, reviewing course concepts, and preparing for exams. A link to the Help Room Schedule can be found in the “Administrative” folder on D2L.


Office Hours

This semester, I will have both virtual and in-person office hours. In-person office hours are drop-in, while virtual office hours are done by appointment. For virtual office hours, you will need to reserve a time for our meeting on Calendly. You can do that here: https://calendly.com/ec201/15min. Time slots are done in 15-minute blocks. If you prefer to meet for 30 minutes, just reserve two consecutive time slots.

I encourage all of you to attend my office hours! You can come by if you have questions about the material, and I am also happy to chat with you about any other topic.

In addition to help room hours, teaching assistants will also have office hours. More details on this will be provided at a later date.


Additional Comments and Advice

1) I understand that some of the policies may seem harsh. For example, an assignment submitted one minute past the deadline receives a score of zero. Because this class is so large, I believe it is important to set and enforce strict guidelines. Regarding the homework deadlines, if I accept an assignment that is 5 minutes late, it becomes more difficult for me to justify rejecting an assignment that is an hour late, and if I accept an assignment that is an hour late, it becomes more difficult for me to justify rejecting an assignment that is a day late, and so on. To treat everyone fairly, I use the same rules for everyone.

2) Do lots of problems. This is, without question, the best way to prepare for exams. I will post practice problems before each midterm exam and the final. I recommend you do them by yourself, review the solutions, and come to office hours or the Economics Help Room if you have any questions.

3) It is easy to watch the videos, write down what you see on the slides, click through the homework assignments, and read through your notes before exams. This “bare-minimum” approach will not serve you well on the exams. Instead, be assertive and take ownership of your experience in this class! Which of the examples that we covered in class interest you? Go read some more about them! Is there something you don’t understand? Come ask me or ask the teaching assistant! Disappointed with your last exam score? Come ask me for advice! Not sure where to start studying? Do some practice problems!

4) Please do not wait until the last minute to come looking for help. Typically, my office hours are nearly empty at the beginning of the semester and extremely busy in the days before your final exam. However, that late in the semester, a substantial portion of your grade has already been determined, and it is difficult to learn a semester’s worth of material in a short period.

5) Please do not ask me for a grade change or extra credit opportunity at the end of the semester. I am happy to work with you during the semester to improve your grade.