Syllabus
Course Description
This course is an introductory analysis of the overall economy. This class will teach economics as a way of thinking and analyze how to measure their productivity, and how different policies will affect the economy through the aggregation and interactions of individual behavior and reaction to the incentives created by the new policies. We will learn about unemployment, gross domestic product (“GDP”), economic growth, inflation, monetary policy, and fiscal policies.
Faculty Contact
Dorina Tila, PhD
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 718-368-4762
Office: M332
Office Hours
Please, send your name and section in advance at either text at 347-692-0722 or email [email protected]). If none of these times work, we can still call or zoom at a mutually agreed time.
- Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 9:10-10:10am (call or zoom)
- Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 1:00 – 2:00pm (call or zoom)
Course Materials
This is a zero-textbook cost course. All the resources and readings you will need will be provided through Brightspace or other online sites (with printing capability).You do not need to buy or rent a textbook for this course.
- Required Textbook: Shapiro, D., Greenlaw, S. A. A. & Macdonald, D. (2022) Principles of Economics: 3e . Houston, Texas: OpenStax, Rice University. Retrieved from https://openstax.org/details/books/principles-macroeconomics-3e
- Suggested Textbook: Cooper, R. & J. Andrew. (2012). Macroeconomics: Theory through Applications. Retrieved from https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/127
Instructor Introduction
Please allow me to introduce myself. I have been an economist and working in academic and industry positions for over five years. Some key highlights of my career include the completion of Ph.D. in Economics and then post-doctoral position through the selection and funding of the International Foundation for Research in Experimental Economics (IFREE) established by Nobel Laureate Dr. Vernon Smith.
While working on international tax and transfer pricing with Deloitte, Ernst & Young, and Crowe Horwath, I continued to nurture my desire to teach and research. I followed my dream which brought me back to academia at KCC. I continued my research interest in Experimental Economics, such as experimental design and testing of double auctions, English, Dutch, First Price and Second Priced Sealed Bids auctions, combination and optimization of auction designs, vertical integration, behavioral economics, and future markets. Based on this experience, I encourage all of you to do your best to study and achieve your dreams. I look forward to having you in this class.
Course Objectives
After successfully completing this course, the student will:
- CO1- Gather, interpret and assess economic information from variety of sources/viewpoints.
- CO2 – Evaluate economic evidence and arguments critically or analytically.
- CO3 – Produce well-reasoned written/oral arguments using evidence to support conclusions.
- CO4 – Identify and apply the fundamental concepts and methods of economics exploring the U.S. experience in its diversity.
- CO5 – Analyze/explain one or more major economic themes of U.S. history from more than one informed perspective.
- CO6 – Explain/Evaluate the role of the United States in international relations.
- CO7 – Identify the major economic systems and ways to measure economic performance.
- CO8 – Describe the supply and demand model in numerous applications.
- CO9 – Describe how prices are determined in markets.
- CO10 – Interpret graphical economic data.
- CO11 – Describe macroeconomic problems of unemployment and inflation & their measurements.
- CO12 – Evaluate macroeconomic stabilization policies including fiscal and monetary policies.
- CO13 – Analyze/evaluation the impact of the Federal Government’s economic and foreign policies on the American economy.
College Policies, Practices, & Assistance
This course is offered at Kingsborough Community College through Brightspace Learning Management System. The course is comprised of twelve weeks. Each week covers one module and is seven days long, starting from Monday and ending on Sunday. Please check below some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).
What is the late policy? Please note that all assignments, unless otherwise indicated, are due by 11:59pm EST of the date shown (Sunday). Students should try their best to submit the work on the due date. You are encouraged to contact the instructor before the due date to request an extension.
How can I succeed in this course? Your success in this course will depend on your hard work, reading of the assigned material (including videos), timely completion of your homework, thorough responses and active participation in the online asynchronous discussion. Work submitted late will not be accepted.
How can I contact the instructor? It is essential that you communicate with your instructor throughout the semester. Please use all available tools to communicate (email, phone, discussion forum, chat). Please make sure you contact the instructor directly ([email protected]) from your CUNY email rather than using Brightspace message.
Where do I submit the coursework? All your assignments are posted and must be submitted in Brightspace. P.S. Please use the following link to log in to the Brightspace CUNY Portal or to learn how to log in. You are recommended to keep electronic copies of all materials submitted as discussion posts, tests, and emails, until after the end of the semester and a final grade is posted. When posting responses in a discussion forum, please confirm that the responses have been posted after you submit them.
What is academic integrity and how can I avoid plagiarism? You are required to follow the CUNY Policy for academic integrity. Please keep in mind that whenever you use someone else’s words or their ideas, even if they are expressed in your own words, you must give credit. This is true regardless of where you find the words or ideas, whether it is a book, a magazine or a newspaper, television, or the internet. Plagiarism may lead from a grade of F to disciplinary action. You will use APA format for any in-text and references. Please visit the APA website for additional information about the American Psychological Association Publication Manual at https://apastyle.apa.org/products/publication-manual-7th-edition
How can I access the Schools Library Online? Kingsborough Community College provides you with the option of accessing books and articles from a plethora of sources. If you are off-campus, please make sure you activate your ID card and then follow the instructions provided in the website. Ask a librarian: https://kbcc.cuny.libguides.com/askalibrarian
What do I do if I need help? If you need help to catchup with the content covered in this course, you are welcome to contact the instructor during office hours or schedule tutoring sessions for free with KCC. If you face other challenges and feel you need more help, you can visit the Access-Ability Office. Their office serves as a liaison and resource to the KCC community regarding disability issues, promotes equal access to all KCC programs and activities, and makes every reasonable effort to provide appropriate accommodations and assistance. Your instructor will be glad to make the accommodations you need, but you must have documentation from the Access-Ability office for any accommodations.
Grading
| Course Grade Scale | GPA | Evaluation Items and Weights | ||
| 95-100% ** | A | 4.0 | Discussion Forums | 40% |
| 90- 94% | A- | 3.7 | Multiple Choice Tests | 40% |
| 85- 89% | B+ | 3.3 | Final Exam | 20% |
| 80- 84% | B | 3.0 | Presentation (optional) | 3% |
| 75- 79% | B- | 2.7 | ||
| 70- 74% | C+ | 2.3 | ||
| 65- 69% | C | 2.0 | ||
| 55- 64% | C- | 1.7 | ||
| 55- 59% | D | 1.0 | ||
| 0 – 54% | F | 0.0 | ||
** Students who distinguish themselves can earn an A+, which is assigned a GPA value of 4.0.
Discussion Forums (40%)
Every module (unless informed otherwise), you will be provided with a discussion activity where you will have the opportunity to express and share your economic thoughts and application of the material covered. Through these activities, you will be able to asynchronously discuss with your classmates and instructor. Hence, it is important that you actively and continuously participate. Your initial post will be due by Day 4 of the week (Thursday) and at least two peer responses by Day 6 (Saturday). These rules ensure that you upload your posts early enough to allow others to read and respond to it.
Discussions are submitted in Brightspace and comprise 40% of your final grade. Please refer to the grading rubric for a clearer understanding of the grading policy. You are graded on quality of your writing and applications of the theory. Simply agreeing or disagreeing with a student will not provide you full credit. You can agree or disagree (in a professional manner) with your peers, but you have to explain the reason. Or, you can re-direct the discussion towards another vantage point presenting additional factors.
Multiple Choice Tests (40%)
Final Exam (20%)
There will be only one final exam in this class, which will be cumulative and count towards 20% of your grade. The time and duration of the final exam will be scheduled online. Please check the Brightspace account for details.
Bonus: A bonus of 3% of total grade is provided for the preparation of a presentation. You will submit your topic at least three weeks before the presentation and provide a draft of the PowerPoint at least one week before the end of the semester. Before starting on work on this activity, please discuss it with the instructor.
Commitment to this syllabus
This syllabus is designed to provide students with clarity on the expectations of this course. It has attempted to provide you with a description and objectives of this course as well as a roadmap on how to succeed. You should be able to successfully complete this course and achieve the goals set if you complete the coursework, participate, and read the assigned and recommended material. In the event that you face any challenges during this journey, the instructor is here to help you to understand and catch up. If the instructor’s help is not sufficient, you can add to it tutoring as well as assistance from the Access-Ability Office. Remember that the whole college is here to help you as a student to succeed.
Tentative Course Schedule
[1] This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Revised Feb 2025.
