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AREC 250 Syllabus Fall 2007
| AREC 250 Syllabus - Fall, 2007 | |
| Course Information | |
| Course title | Elements of Agricultural and Resource Economics |
| Course number | AREC250 |
| Location | ARM 0112 |
| Meeting days | TuTh |
| Meeting times | 9:30-10:45 |
| Course Description | |
| This course is an introduction to economic principles of agricultural production, marketing and finance, food consumption, agricultural prices and incomes, agricultural policies, government programs, and agricultural trade and economic development. | |
| Instructor Information | |
| Name | Lars J. Olson |
| Office location | Symons 3204 |
| lolson@arec.umd.edu | |
| Phone | 405-7180 |
| Office hours | TuTh 10:45-11:30, or by appt. |
| Graduate Assistant | |
| Name | Ani Silwal |
| Office | Symons 3112 |
| asilwal@arec.umd.edu | |
| Office hours | W 2-4 |
| Textbook | |
| Microeconomics (4th ed.), Jeffrey M. Perloff, Pearson, 2007. ISBN: 0321376110 | |
| Other required readings are listed below under the course topics in the syllabus. Optional www resources are provided after the course outline. I hope you take advantage of these supplementary learning materials. | |
| Online Course Materials | |
| This course will utilize ELMS to provide an integrated online course environment with access to the syllabus, course calendar, handouts, exercises, announcements and course related information on the WWW. To help you get started please see: ELMS: Student Resources. The online course materials can be accessed from any computer with an internet connection. This includes the computer labs on campus, as well as dorm or home computers connected to the internet. | |
| Learning Economics Through Classroom Games | |
| Many basic economic principles can be illustrated using interactive classroom games or experiments where students act as economic agents. This course will use classroom experiments on a regular basis to provide a hands-on learning experience to supplement the lectures. The goal is to reinforce the economic principles taught in the course through experiments that allow you to make decisions just the way firms and consumers do. The only way you can learn from these experiments is if you are here to participate in them. | |
| Course Requirements | |
| There will be three exams: two midterms and a final. There will be 5 exercises to help you prepare for the exams and help develop your skills in the application of economic principles to the analysis of agricultural economics and policy. A portion of each exercise will be graded, but you will not know the questions to be graded in advance. Exercises will be made available on ELMS. Complete answers to all questions on the exercises will be made available after they are graded. Class participation and discussion is encouraged. Become informed about events relevant for agricultural and resource economics and ask questions in class. | |
| Grading | |
| Exercises | 20% (4% each) |
| Exam 1 | 25% |
| Exam 2 | 25% |
| Final exam | 30% |
| Policy regarding late assignments and missed exams | |
| A written excuse is required to be excused from an assignment or an exam. Late assignments will be penalized 10% for each week day late, up to the next class period after the assignment is due. Assignments more than one class period late will not be accepted under any circumstances. For example, if an assignment is due Thursday the penalty is 10% if you turn it in Friday, 20% if you turn it in Monday, and 30% if you turn it in before or during class Tuesday. The assignment would not be accepted after class on Tuesday. If you are going to miss an exam, I greatly appreciate if you contact me in person, by phone, or by email BEFORE the exam to let me know your situation. This is both the courteous and the responsible thing to do. | |
| Policy on Electronic Devices | |
| Please silence cell phones/beepers before class begins. A cell phone that rings during class disrupts the learning experience for other students and shows disrespect for everyone. That is why there is voice mail. No electronic devices are allowed during exams, including calculators, cell phones, pda's and electronic dictionaries. There are no exceptions. If your cell phone rings during an exam, you will be asked to turn in your exam at that time. | |
| Policy on Academic Integrity | |
| The University has a nationally recognized Honor Code, administered by the Student Honor Council. It expected that every student has read and understands university policy on academic dishonesty as stated in the Schedule of Classes. Any suspected cases of academic dishonesty (cheating, fabrication, facilitating academic dishonesty, or plagiarism) will be reported to the Honor Council. In the past such cases have resulted in a grade of XF, failure due to academic dishonesty, on the student's academic record. | |
| Students with disabilities | |
| If you have a documented disability and wish to discuss academic accommodations with me, please contact me as soon as possible. | |
| Privacy and University ID numbers | |
| The University has implemented measures to replace the use of social security numbers with nine-digit computer generated U ID numbers. For this course you should use U ID numbers for anything requiring an identification number. You can easily obtain your U ID number by logging into Testudo and viewing your class schedule. These numbers are also displayed on the front of any student photo ID card printed since June 2003. | |
| Majoring in Agricultural and Resource Economics | |
| The agricultural and resource economics major in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics offers classes in business management, environmental and natural resource policy, international agriculture, farm production, food production, government and politics, and economic theory and methods. You may decide to design your own field in the biological and environmental sciences, in a particular area of agricultural production, or in a foreign language. | |
| Careers in Agricultural Econonomics | |
The following resource guides may be useful if you are considering agricultural economics for a career (no endorsement of placement services is implied).
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| Course Outline |
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| Additional WWW Resources |
Daily Agricultural News
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| Tentative Course Schedule (Subject to Change) |
| Week 1 - Aug. 30 |
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| Week 2 - Sept. 4, 6 |
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| Week 3 - Sept. 11, 13 |
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| Week 4 - Sept. 18, 20 |
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| Week 5 - Sept. 25, 27 |
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| Week 6 - Oct. 2, 4 |
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| Week 7 - Oct. 9, 11 |
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| Week 8 - Oct. 16, 18 |
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| Week 9 - Oct. 23, 25 |
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| Week 10 - Oct. 30, Nov. 1 |
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| Week 11 - Nov. 6, 8 |
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| Week 12 - Nov. 13, 15 |
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| Week 13 - Nov. 20 |
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| Week 14 - Nov. 27, 29 |
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| Week 15 - Dec. 4, 6 |
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| Week 16 - Dec. 11 |
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| Final Exam |
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Last updated: 03/9/2009