Syllabus

Science Prerequisites for Health Professionals

ECON 1011: Macroeconomics (Summer 2024)

Credits - 3

Description

This course introduces students to macroeconomics, the study of the economy as a whole. Students will learn about the key macroeconomic indicators of GDP, unemployment, and inflation, and then apply these concepts to analyze economic behavior. The topics covered in this course include choice and scarcity; supply, demand, and its applications; GDP and economic growth; unemployment and inflation; the aggregate demand-aggregate supply model; Keynesian economics and Neoclassical economics; fiscal policy; money and banking; monetary policy; policy applications; globalization and trade; exchange rates and international finance; and Inequality, Poverty and Discrimination.

Materials

Learning Objectives and Outcomes

Program Outcomes

In lecture courses, students should be able to:

• Communicate scientific concepts and information clearly.
• Illustrate fundamental laws, theories, and principles of scientific disciplines.
• Apply knowledge and critical thinking skills to scientific problems.

Course Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:

1. Explain the role of scarcity, specialization, opportunity costs in economic decision-making.
2. Identify the determinants of supply and demand and demonstrate the impact of shifts in both market supply and demand curves on equilibrium price and quantity.
3. Define GDP, economic growth, and identify sources of economic growth.
4. Describe unemployment rate and inflation rate and use them to analyze the economy in quantitative terms.
5. Construct the aggregate demand and aggregate supply model of the macro economy and use it to illustrate macroeconomic problems.
6. Describe aggregate demand in Keynesian analysis and policy implications of the Neoclassical perspective.
7. Define money and money supply; describe the process of money creation by the banking system, and analyze the role of money, credit, and Federal Reserve.
8. Apply the principle of comparative advantage to international trade and evaluate the impact of exchange rates to domestic economic activity.
9. Analyze government spending, taxation and fiscal policy, and the impact of government borrowing.
10. Analyze fiscal and monetary policy decisions to counter business cycles fluctuations by using macroeconomic models.
11. Describe absolute and comparative advantage and analyze the effects of barriers to international trade.
12. Describe protectionism, and analyze international trade and its effects on jobs, wages and working conditions, and the tradeoffs of trade policy.
13. Define Inequality, poverty and discrimination and explain their patterns in the U.S.

SELF PACED DESIGN

On the course start date, students will have access to orientation. This must be completed to be able to gain access to the first module in the course. Students must complete the first module to gain access to the next one. We recommend that students spend about 15 hours per week to complete a course in 16 weeks. When trying to complete the course in less than 16 weeks, we typically see students do this successfully within 12-14 weeks. Instructors will be timely in grading and feedback, but it will not be instant.

Assignments

MIDTERM AND FINAL EXAM

These exams account for 40% of your grade and are designed to review important concepts found in the module materials. Each exam has 50 multiple choice and/or True or False questions, covers several modules and you will have 80 minutes to complete each exam. 

Both the midterm and final will be proctored. The University of New England has contracted with ProctorU to provide students with the most convenient online exam proctoring system. Upon enrollment into the course, you will register with ProctorU and establish a login name and password. This will give you access to all of ProctorU’s services.

When you’re ready, you will schedule your exam time with ProctorU at least 72 hours prior to taking the exam. Please refer to the full requirements for proctored exams in the Policies section below. You must purchase the Official UNE External Webcam to take your proctored examinations. Remember to order your webcam at least three weeks prior to scheduling your first proctored exam.

The exams are closed book, closed notes, and no additional resources may be used during the exam session. The exams are also closed for review. You will not be able to review these exams at any time. You may contact your instructor for specific feedback on your exam.

PRACTICE QUIZZES
Module quizzes should help evaluate your performance and readiness to take the exams. Quizzes are assigned for every module covered in the course. Collectively, quizzes account for 20% of your final grade. You will have 15 quizzes, two attempts for each quiz. You will have 90 minutes to complete each attempt. 

You will NOT be able to see the answers to the questions you missed prior to your next attempts. However,  you will be able to see which quiz questions you missed. 

WORKSHEETS

Each week you will have a worksheet. You will have one attempt with the possibility to submit a second/final attempt the following week. I recommend that each week, you read and re-read the modules and any associated material posted until you are confident in your understanding of the material and then attempt the assigned worksheet.

DISCUSSION BOARD POSTS

There will be four discussion board posts. You can access these forums under the weekly Modules. You are required to create a new thread with a response to the question posted in the Forum Description. Once you create your thread, you will be able to view other threads in the forum by your classmates. You are then required to post a response to at least two of your classmates’ threads.

SHORT-ESSAY

You are required to write one essay that should have a maximum of 500 words. The essay should be completed in .doc, docx or .rtf format using APA format. The essays are not meant to be research papers. They are summary reports that link topics you have been learning in class to current economic news found in media articles. The basic idea of the essay is to allow you to read, think and write on the assigned topic while relating basic theory to real life.

Grading Policy

Your grade in this course will be determined by the following criteria:

Grade Breakdown