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ECON 1050 Syllabus

Course Syllabus

ECON 1050 - Economics & Society

3 Credit Hours

Course Information

Course Description:

Economics and Society is a study of economics and its relationship to other social sciences and current issues. Emphasis is on the major components of a nation’s economy as they relate to other social sciences like sociology, psychology, geography, and political science, along with other social institutions.

Course Outcomes:

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

  • Explore the profundity and inescapability of “The Economics Problem” (unlimited needs and wants versus limited resources) and its dynamics.
  • Examine the power and capabilities of markets while recognizing successes, failures, results, and consequences.
  • Understand policy options, operations, and consequences, including opposing viewpoints.
  • Provide essential background for functioning, fitting, fulfilling roles, contributing, navigating, and improving the economy and society.
Prerequisites & Co-requisites:

Satisfactory completion of Learning Support Math, Reading, and Writing courses or appropriate entrance scores.

Course Topics:
  • Scarcity, “The Economic Problem”, and Economic Systems
  • Tradeoffs, Opportunity Costs, Marginal Thinking
  • Production Possibilities
  • Demand, Supply, Equilibrium
  • How Markets Work, Government Intervention
  • Externalities
  • Public and Private Goods, Common Resources
  • GDP and measuring the Economy, Growth
  • Inflation
  • Unemployment
  • Two Schools of Thought: NeoClassical and Keynesian, effects on social interaction.
  • Fiscal Policy, Debt, and Budgets
  • Money and Monetary Policy
  • Income and Wealth
  • International Trade and Comparative Advantage
Specific Course Requirements:

Students must complete exercises, discussions, assignments, and quizzes. Students must have and regularly use reliable internet access and devices enabling communication and content submissions.

Textbooks, Supplementary Materials, Hardware and Software Requirements

Required Textbooks:

Please visit the Virtual Bookstore to obtain textbook information for this course. Move your cursor over the "Books" link in the navigation bar and select "Textbooks & Course Materials." Select your Program, Term, Department, and Course; then select "Submit."

Supplementary Materials:
Hardware and Software Requirements:

Minimum hardware requirements can be found here.

Minimum software requirements can be found here.

Common applications you might need:

Web Resources:

Purdue OWL Online Writing Lab (for APA, MLA, or Chicago style)

The Writing Center Online Writer's Handbook

Student Resources:
  • Technical support information can be found on the TN eCampus Help Desk page.
  • Smarthinking virtual tutoring is available FREE of charge. to access Smarthinking, visit the course homepage and select Smarthinking under Course Resources. You also view sample sessions to see what Smarthinking offers and how it works.
  • Information on other student issues or concerns can be located on the TN eCampus Student Resources page.

Instructor Information

Please see "Instructor Information" in the Getting Started Module for instructor contact information, virtual office hours, and other communication information. You can expect to receive a response from the instructor within 24-48 hours unless notified of extenuating circumstances.

Participation, Assessments, & Grading

Grading Procedures:
Grading Scale:

Letter grades for this course will be assigned based on the following scale.

Point RangeAssigned Grade
900-100A
800-899B
700-799C
649-699D
under 649F

 

Assignments and Projects:
DescriptionPoints
7 Discussions @ 50 points each350
6 Assignments @ 50 points each300
7 Quizzes @ 50 points each350
Total Course Points1000

 

Assignments: There are 6 Problem Set Exercises in this course. Each set consists of 2 parts of questions and problems from the reading chapters that students will complete and submit in the corresponding assignment.

Discussions: Students will participate in 7 discussion forums throughout the course. Each contains prompts/questions relevant to the module topics. Students are required to answer the questions and respond to 2 other classmates.

Quizzes: There are 7 quizzes in this course, covering assigned reading chapters. You must complete each quiz during the provided time window to receive full credit. Late completion, if approved, will be penalized 25% of the score.

Class Participation:

Regular, prompt, on-time submissions of Assignments, Discussions, and Quizzes are considered evidence of participation and attendance for an online course

Late Policy:

Late submissions of Assignments are at the discretion of the instructor and will carry a 10% penalty if allowed. Late Discussions, if allowed, will also carry a 10% discount (see the Discussion Rubric for more grading detail). Late Quizzes, if allowed and approved, will be penalized 25% of the resulting score.

Course Ground Rules

The following two statements (1., 2.) were derived from the TBR System-wide Student Rules document, released January 2012:

RULES OF THE TENNESSEE BOARD OF REGENTS STATE UNIVERSITY AND COMMUNITY COLLEGE SYSTEM OF TENNESSEE SYSTEMWIDE STUDENT RULES CHAPTER 0240-02-03 STUDENT CONDUCT AND DISCIPLINARY SANCTIONS

Read the document in its entirety here.

1. Standards of Conduct:

  • Students are required to adhere to the same professional, legal and ethical standards of conduct online as on campus. In addition, students should conform to generally accepted standards of "netiquette" while sending e-mail, posting comments to the discussion board, and while participating in other means of communicating online. Specifically, students should refrain from inappropriate and/or offensive language, comments and actions.

2. Review the TN eCampus Academic Integrity/Academic Honesty Policy:

  • In their academic activities, students are expected to maintain high standards of honesty and integrity. Academic dishonesty is prohibited.

Such conduct includes, but is not limited to:

  • an attempt by one or more students to use unauthorized information in the taking of an exam
  • to submit as one's own work, themes, reports, drawings, laboratory notes, computer programs, or other products prepared by another person,
  • or to knowingly assist another student in obtaining or using unauthorized materials.

Plagiarism, cheating, and other forms of academic dishonesty are prohibited.

Students guilty of academic misconduct, either directly or indirectly through participation or assistance, are subject to disciplinary action through the regular procedures of the student’s home institution.  Refer to the student handbook provided by your home institution to review the student conduct policy.

In addition to other possible disciplinary sanctions that may be imposed, the instructor has the authority to assign an "F" or zero for an activity or to assign an "F" for the course.

Other Course Rules:

Students are expected to:

  • Participate in all aspects of the course
  • Communicate with other students
  • Learn how to navigate in Brightspace
  • Keep abreast of course announcements
  • Use the assigned course management (Brightspace) email address rather than a personal email address
  • Address technical problems immediately:
  • Observe course netiquette at all times.

Guidelines for Communications

Email:

  • Always include a subject line.
  • Remember without facial expressions some comments may be taken the wrong way. Be careful in wording your emails. Use of emoticons might be helpful in some cases.
  • Use standard fonts.
  • Do not send large attachments without permission.
  • Special formatting such as centering, audio messages, tables, html, etc. should be avoided unless necessary to complete an assignment or other communication.
  • Respect the privacy of other class members

Discussions:

  • Review the discussion threads thoroughly before entering the discussion. Be a lurker then a discussant.
  • Try to maintain threads by using the "Reply" button rather starting a new topic.
  • Do not make insulting or inflammatory statements to other members of the discussion group. Be respectful of other’s ideas.
  • Be patient and read the comments of other group members thoroughly before entering your remarks.
  • Be cooperative with group leaders in completing assigned tasks.
  • Be positive and constructive in group discussions.
  • Respond in a thoughtful and timely manner.

Library

The Tennessee Virtual Library is available to all students enrolled in TN eCampus programs and courses. Links to library materials (such as electronic journals, databases, interlibrary loans, digital reserves, dictionaries, encyclopedias, maps, and librarian support) and Internet resources needed by learners to complete online assignments and as background reading will be included within the course modules. To access the Virtual Library, go to the course homepage and select the Virtual Library link under Course Resources.

Students with Disabilities

Qualified students with disabilities will be provided reasonable and necessary academic accommodations if determined eligible by the appropriate disability services staff at their home institution. Prior to granting disability accommodations in this course, the instructor must receive written verification of a student's eligibility for specific accommodations from the disability services staff at the home institution. It is the student's responsibility to initiate contact with their home institution's disability services staff and to follow the established procedures for having the accommodation notice sent to the instructor.

Syllabus Changes

The instructor reserves the right to make changes as necessary to this syllabus. If changes are necessitated during the term of the course, the instructor will immediately notify students of such changes both by individual email communication and posting both notification and nature of change(s) on the course bulletin board.

Disclaimer

The information contained in this syllabus is for general information purposes only. While we endeavor to keep this information up-to-date and accurate, there may be some discrepancies between this syllabus and the one found in your online course. The syllabus of record is the one found in your online course. Please make sure you read the syllabus in your course at the beginning of the semester. Questions regarding course content should be directed to your instructor.


Last Revised on April 11, 2022