Syllabus

UNE Summer Session

BUEC 204: Microeconomics – Summer Session 2

Credits - 3

Description

This course is designed to provide students with insight into and appreciation of the dynamics of a market-based economy. Microeconomics is the study of interactions of individual economic agents, consumers, producers and governments, to determine how decisions are made in allocating the use of scarce resources within a society.  The theoretical framework of supply and demand models, the core of economic analysis, are introduced, and developed throughout the course.  Perfectly competitive markets are defined and analyzed in order to allow comparisons of economic efficiencies and inefficiencies relative to other organizational forms of economic activity.  Market imperfections, monopolies as well as more general distortions of market behavior, and market failures will also be identified and addressed in detail.  The role of government involvement within a market economy will also be discussed.

Microeconomics is the very foundation of economic reasoning and methodology. A firm grasp of the concepts of microeconomics will allow students to better comprehend the decision-making process involving allocation of resources as well as social welfare consequences of different forms and structures of economic activity. 

Materials

Required Materials:

Colander, David C. Microeconomics. 12th ed., McGraw Hill, 2023.  ISBN: 9781266477690 (11th edition is also acceptable)

  • Ebook
  • Optional Connect E-Book with additional features including study tools, adaptive assignments, access to online learning platform

Supplemental Materials:

Learning Objectives and Outcomes

  • Apply economic concepts to evaluate true costs and benefits of alternative actions

  • Define microeconomic concepts such as supply and demand models, ceteris paribus, market imperfections, monopolies, perfect competition, and market structure

  • Assess and formulate informed opinions regarding the numerous economic-related current event issues under discussion

  • Describe the complexities and efficiency of a market economy, as well as areas of shortcomings and provide insights into possible improvements

  • Identify and appraise the overall interdependency of all economic activity and an ability to better assess true costs and benefits of intervention in the market mechanism

  • Participate in active learning in the course through such activities as thoughtful and meaningful discussion board posts and debates, and presentation of research through contemplative posts and written essays

Assignments

  • 5 Discussion Board Posts, with 2 peer responses (weeks 1, 2, 4, 5)
  • 4 weekly multiple-choice assessments (weeks 1, 2, 4, 5)
  • 1 mid-term exam in essay format (week 3)
  • 1 final exam in essay format (week 6)

Grading Policy

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

Grade Breakdown

AssignmentPercentage
Discussion Board Participation25%
Mid-term Quiz30%
Final Exam40%
Weekly Assignments5%

Grade Scale

Grade Points Grade Point Average (GPA)
A 94 – 100% 4.00
A- 90 – 93% 3.75
B+ 87 – 89% 3.50
B 84 – 86% 3.00
B- 80 – 83% 2.75
C+ 77 – 79% 2.50
C 74 – 76% 2.00
C- 70 – 73% 1.75
D 64 – 69% 1.00
F 00 – 63% 0.00

Schedule

Week 1: Jul 3 – Jul 7
Week 2: Jul 8 – Jul 14
Week 3: Jul 15 – Jul 21
Week 4: Jul 22 – Jul 28
Week 5: Jul 29 – Aug 4
Week 6: Aug 5 – Aug 9

Week of: Topic: Reading: Assignments:
July 3
  • Introduction to Economics: what it is, what it is not
  • The most basic and most widely used of all economic models: Supply & Demand
  • Chapter 1: Economics & Economic Reasoning
  • Chapter 4: Supply & Demand
  • Introductory Post July 4
  • Discussion Board Prompt July 7
  • Weekly Assessment July 7
July 8
  • Practical applications of principles of supply & demand
  • Chapter 5: Using Supply and Demand
  • Discussion Board Prompt July 14
  • Weekly Assessment July 14
July 15
  • Looking behind the Demand Curve
  • Building blocks of economic theory
  • Economic efficiency & inefficiency introduced
  • Chapter 6: Describing Supply & Demand Elasticities
  • Chapter 19: The Logic of Individual Choice; The Foundations of Supply & Demand
  • Mid-term Exam July 21
July 22
  • Possible government interventions that alter levels of production
  • How the supply curve is derived and what it represents
  • Chapter 8: Market vs. Government Failure
  • Chapter 11: Production & Cost Analysis
  • Discussion Board Prompt July 28
  • Weekly Assessment July 28
July 29
  • Market Structure, basis for comparison
  • Why we study Perfectly Competitive Markets
  • Characteristics of Monopolistic Markets
  • Chapter 13: Perfect Competition
  • Chapter 14: Monopoly & Monopolistic Competition
  • Discussion Board Prompt August 4
  • Weekly Assessment August 4
August 5
  • Theory of wage determination based upon the marginal value product of labor
  • Why one must evaluate alternative actions using cost/benefit analysis
  • Chapter 17: Work & the Labor Market (including appendix derived demand)
  • Chapter 23: Microeconomic Policy, Economic Reasoning & Beyond
  • Final Exam August 9

Student Resources

Summer Session Online Student Support

Your Student Support Specialist is a resource for you. Please don't hesitate to contact them for assistance, including, but not limited to course planning, current problems or issues in a course, technology concerns, or personal emergencies.

Questions? Email: summersessiononline@une.edu.

Instructor and Support Contact Information

Check Brightspace for specific instructor and support specialist contact information.

UNE Libraries

Further Assistance

Your student support specialist monitors course progression and provides assistance or guidance when needed. They can assist questions regarding ordering course materials, University policies, billing, navigating the course in Brightspace, and more.

To request an accommodation a student needs to go through the process with our UNE office. If the student has a current/already established accommodation in place with UNE it is the responsibility of the student to notify the program at summersessiononline@une.edu to ensure it is applied properly.

If you need to inquire about a possible accommodation, please reach out to the Student Access Center by calling 207-221-4418 or send an email to pcstudentaccess@une.edu.

Policies

Summer Session & Academic Engagement Policy

Online students are required to submit a graded assignment/discussion prior to Sunday evening at 11:59 pm EDT of the first week of the term. If a student does not submit a posting to the graded assignment/discussion by 11:59 pm EDT on Sunday of the first week, the student will be automatically dropped from the course for non-participation. Review the Student Summer Session Manual for full details.

Proctored Examinations

Your course may have proctored exams. Please see the course for the exact exam requirements, test-taker guidance, proctoring format, and allowances (such as calculators or whiteboards, as indicated in the course).

Information about exam attempts can be found in your course.

Technology Requirements

Please review the technical requirements for UNE Online Programs: Technical Requirements.

Course Length

A schedule of lectures and assignments is included in this syllabus.

Courses in the program are equivalent to one-semester courses designed to be completed in 6 or 12 weeks.

  1. Enrollment in the course begins the day your section opens which is listed in the Academic Calendar.
  2. Course due dates, start and end dates are in respect to Eastern Time.

Withdrawal and Refund Policies

Please review the policies in your confirmation email. Contact summersessiononline@une.edu with any questions.

Grade Policy

Students are expected to attempt and complete all graded assignments and proctored exams by the end date of the course.

Transcripts

Due to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, only the student may request official transcripts. This may be done online by going to the University of New England Registrar website and following the directions on the page.

Academic Integrity

The University of New England values academic integrity in all aspects of the educational experience. Academic dishonesty in any form undermines this standard and devalues the original contributions of others. It is the responsibility of all members of the University community to actively uphold the integrity of the academy; failure to act, for any reason, is not acceptable.

Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to the following:

  1. Cheating, copying, or the offering or receiving of unauthorized assistance or information.
  2. Fabrication or falsification of data, results, or sources for papers or reports.
  3. Action which destroys or alters the work of another student.
  4. Multiple submission of the same paper or report for assignments in more than one course without permission of each instructor.
  5. Plagiarism, the appropriation of records, research, materials, ideas, or the language of other persons or writers and the submission of them as one's own.

Charges of academic dishonesty will be reviewed by the College. Penalties for students found responsible for violations may depend upon the seriousness and circumstances of the violation, the degree of premeditation involved, and/or the student’s previous record of violations. Appeal of a decision may be made to the Dean whose decision will be final. Student appeals will take place through the grievance process outlined in the student handbook.