Spring 2026
Principles of Macroeconomics
Approved: Initials/date Principles of Macroeconomics (ECON 2301) CREDIT 3 Semester Credit Hours (3 hours lecture, 0 hours lab) MODE OF INSTRUCTION Online PREREQUISITE/CO-REQUISITE: C or better in Composition I (ENGL 1301) COURSE DESCRIPTION An analysis of the economy as a whole including measurement and determination of Aggregate Demand and Aggregate Supply, national income, inflation, and unemployment. Other topics include international trade, economic growth, business cycles, and fiscal policy and monetary policy. COURSE OBJECTIVES Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to 1. Explain the role of scarcity, specialization, opportunity cost and cost/benefit analysis in economic decision-making. 2. Identify the determinants of supply and demand; demonstrate the impact in shifts in both market supply and demand curves on equilibrium price and output. 3. Define and measure national income and rates of unemployment and inflation. 4. Identify the phases of the business cycle and the problems caused by cyclical fluctuations in the market economy. 5. Define money and the money supply; describe the process of money creation by the banking system and the role of the central bank. 6. Construct the aggregate demand and aggregate supply model of the macro economy and use it to illustrate macroeconomic problems and potential monetary and fiscal policy solutions. 7. Explain the mechanics and institutions of international trade and their impact on the macro economy. 8. Define economic growth and identify sources of economic growth. INSTRUCTOR CONTACT INFORMATION Instructor: Kara Booth Email: knbooth@lit.edu Office Phone: 409-247-5009 Office Location: TA4-103C Office Hours: Virtual upon request RESPONSE TIME Quizzes and exams are automatically graded by Blackboard and will be available to you immediately. Unit assignments and discussions will be graded in 7-10 days after the due date. Rough drafts and Final Research projects will usually be graded within two weeks of the due date. Emails will generally be answered within 48 hours. REQUIRED TEXTBOOK AND MATERIALS Principles of Macroeconomics by OpenStax Book Versions Free Weblink: https://openstax.org/details/books/principles-macroeconomics-3e Hardcover: ISBN-13: 978-1-711471-47-1 Paperback: ISBN-13: 978-1-711471-48-8 Digital: ISBN-13: 978-1-951693-64-0 PARTICIPATION POLICY To be successful in this online course, the student MUST purchase the assigned textbook and log into BlackBoard 4-5 times weekly. Regular, reliable access to BlackBoard via Internet is required for this online course. DROP POLICY If you wish to drop a course, you are responsible for initiating and completing the drop process. If you stop coming to class and fail to drop the course, you will earn an “F” in the course. According to the Academic Calendar, the last day to drop is: 4/13/26 COURSE CALENDAR Chapter # TOPICS Assessment Due Date Syllabus Quiz 1/22/2026 Chapter 1 Welcome to Economics Introduction Discussion Board, Quiz 1/26/2026 Chapter 2 Choice in a World of Scarcity Quiz 2/2/2026 Chapter 3 Demand and Supply Discussion Board, Quiz 2/9/2026 Unit 1 Exam 2/10/2026 Chapter 6 The Macroeconomic Perspective Quiz 2/16/2026 Research Project Topic Selection 2/19/2026 Chapter 7 Economic Growth Discussion Board, Quiz 2/23/2026 Chapter 8 Unemployment Discussion Board, Quiz 3/2/2026 Chapter 9 Inflation Quiz 3/16/2026 Research Project Rough Draft 3/19/2026 Chapter 10 International Trade and Capital Flows Quiz 3/23/2026 Unit 2 Exam 3/24/2026 Chapter 14 Money and Banking Quiz 3/30/2026 Chapter 15 Monetary Policy and Bank Regulations Quiz 4/6/2026 Research Project Final 4/9/2026 Chapter 16 Exchange Rates and International Capital Flows Quiz 4/13/2026 Chapter 17 Government Budgets and Fiscal Policy Quiz 4/20/2026 Unit 3 Exam 4/21/2026 Chapter 19 Macroeconomic Policy Around the World Discussion Board, Quiz 4/27/2026 Chapter 20 International Trade Discussion Board, Quiz 5/4/2026 Unit 4 Exam 5/5/2026 Cumulative Final Exam 5/11/2026 COURSE EVALUATION Final grades will be calculated according to the following criteria: Chapter Quizzes 10% Discussion Boards 15% Unit Exams (4) 48% (12% each) Final Exam 12% Research Project 15% GRADE SCALE • 90-100 A • 80-89 B • 70-79 C • 60-69 D • 0-59 F TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS For the latest technical requirements, including hardware, compatible browsers, operating systems, etc., review the Minimum Computer and Equipment Requirements on the LIT Online Experience page. A functional broadband internet connection, such as DSL, cable, or WiFi is necessary to maximize the use of online technology and resources. DISABILITIES STATEMENT The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 are federal anti-discrimination statutes that provide comprehensive civil rights for persons with disabilities. LIT provides reasonable accommodations as defined in the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, to students with a diagnosed disability. The Special Populations Office is located in the Eagles’ Nest Room 129 and helps foster a supportive and inclusive educational environment by maintaining partnerships with faculty and staff, as well as promoting awareness among all members of the Lamar Institute of Technology community. If you believe you have a disability requiring an accommodation, please contact the Special Populations Coordinator at (409)-951-5708 or email specialpopulations@lit.edu. You may also visit the online resource at Special Populations - Lamar Institute of Technology (lit.edu). STUDENT CODE OF CONDUCT STATEMENT It is the responsibility of all registered Lamar Institute of Technology students to access, read, understand and abide by all published policies, regulations, and procedures listed in the LIT Catalog and Student Handbook. The LIT Catalog and Student Handbook may be accessed at www.lit.edu. Please note that the online version of the LIT Catalog and Student Handbook supersedes all other versions of the same document. STARFISH LIT utilizes an early alert system called Starfish. Throughout the semester, you may receive emails from Starfish regarding your course grades, attendance, or academic performance. Faculty members record student attendance, raise flags and kudos to express concern or give praise, and you can make an appointment with faculty and staff all through the Starfish home page. You can also login to Blackboard or MyLIT and click on the Starfish link to view academic alerts and detailed information. It is the responsibility of the student to pay attention to these emails and information in Starfish and consider taking the recommended actions. Starfish is used to help you be a successful student at LIT. Course Policies Announcements I will post announcements weekly, usually early in the week. These announcements indicate upcoming due dates and notes important to your success in this course. You should READ these Announcements every week Exams Exams will be provided within a BlackBoard examination window. The exams will be timed and limited to 40 minutes. Make-up exams will NOT be given. Missed exams will receive a score of zero. Your exam will be graded immediately by Blackboard. Feedback on specific exam questions will be given 24 hours after the exam is due. You must work alone while taking the exam. Cheating on exams is not acceptable and will be subject to violations of the Academic Dishonesty policy. Dates for exams are listed on the Course Calendar. Each exam counts for 12 percent of your final grade. The Final exam is a course requirement worth 12 percent of your final grade. Failure to submit the Final exam will result in a failing course grade. Quizzes Weekly quizzes will be given covering the chapter studied that week. Missed quizzes will receive a score of zero. The 2 lowest quiz grades will be dropped. Combined, these quizzes will count as 10 percent of your final grade. Discussions Discussion boards are in place to add to your classroom community and emphasize important skills that prepare you to enter the workforce. Additionally, by requiring you to comment on other’s threads, you are learning to communicate with other learners from different generations, ethnicities, locales, and backgrounds. Furthermore, in this course, students are required to master the following Core Course Requirements: 1. Critical Thinking Skills 2. Communication Skills 3. Empirical and Quantitative Skills 4. Social Responsibility These skills are of the most valued soft skills by employers, and discussion boards are meant to provide a low-stakes opportunity to develop and practice these skills. An effort to provide thought-provoking discussion prompts that promote both learning and creative thinking has been made. Therefore, it is expected that all students submit work that is entirely their own. However, due to the fact that almost all discussions are now being influenced by AI to some extent, despite previous clear rules against it, students must declare all use of AI in all discussion posts, including the extent of its influence. Just like citing a source to prevent plagiarism, failure to disclose will result in a zero for the prompt. See discussion prompts for specific guidelines. AI Warnings: • Please be aware that uncritical use of AI can hinder your learning and impact your grade. • AI-generated content can sometimes use copyright material without the authors’ permission or approval, risking plagiarism. • AI-generated content may also produce false statements and made-up references. • Students are responsible for reviewing all statements and facts presented. AI Notice: Using any AI-generated content in an assessment without proper acknowledgment and presenting it as your own work constitutes academic misconduct. Violations will be reflected in your grade and/or overall academic record, dependent on severity of violation. Finally, original discussion threads should FULLY answer the prompt with personal experience and/or specific observations, while comments should advance the discussion or stimulate further thought with personal experience or specific observation. Threads and comments should contain appropriate economic terms and be written using proper grammar, including proper capitalization. A rubric for discussion boards is available. There will be no makeups for missed discussions. There will be 6 discussion sessions. Combined, these discussions will account for 15 percent of your final grade. The lowest 1 discussion will be dropped from the overall grade calculation. Research Project You will be required to submit a formal research project related to a variety of course topics. The research project is due on the date listed on the Course Calendar. Required content, proper format, adequate research, and correct citations are required. A grading matrix, outline, and guidelines are provided on the Research Project Assignments and Guidelines page located in the Research Project Module. Plagiarism will not be tolerated and will be subject to violations of the academic integrity policy. Warning: If URLs (even on the rough draft) have indication of the use of generative AI, you will receive a zero on the Final Project. The opportunity to submit a rough draft to be graded and returned with feedback is provided. The Research Project is 15 percent of your final grade. Use of Instructional Materials Instructional materials, such as PowerPoints and concept videos, are provided in Blackboard for each chapter. These will be useful in understanding concepts as presented in the chapters. Virtual Sessions Virtual sessions are offered at the request of the student. These sessions can be utilized to discuss course concepts, to prep for exams, or to clarify assignment directions. Requests for a virtual session must be submitted via email to the instructor 24 hours in advance for scheduling purposes. Due Dates All due dates are listed on the Course Calendar – found by clicking on the Calendar Menu button. Due dates are also announced in the weekly announcements. Quizzes, exams, assignments, discussion boards, and research projects will NOT be accepted nor reopened. Instructor reserves the right to change, alter, omit, or add to the tentative course outline and calendar due to school closings or other unavoidable obstacles. Make-Up/Late work All due dates are firm. Due dates are listed in the Modules and Syllabus lists and on the course calendar. Due dates are also announced in the weekly announcements. In lieu of late work, 1 discussion board and 2 quizzes will be dropped from the overall calculation when the final grade is calculated. This allows students to miss an occasional assignment without impacting the overall grade. Additionally, ONE missed deadline extension will be granted per student, per semester. Deadline extension requests must be submitted via email to the instructor. The missed deadline request must be made within 5 days of the missed assignment. Students will NOT receive more than ONE. The final research project and final exam are not eligible for deadline extensions. Units, exams, quizzes, and discussion boards will not be reopened once closed. Late research projects will not be accepted Incomplete Grades Assigning the grade of incomplete (I) requires prior approval of the Department Chair. An I is assigned only when the deadline for dropping the course has passed, the student is passing the course, and course requirements, including the final examination, cannot be completed because of unavoidable circumstances. To receive an incomplete, a student must be in good standing to pass the class and must have completed most of the course work (75%).