Southern Utah University

Course Syllabus

Southern Utah University
Southern Utah University
Fall Semester 2025

Principles of Microeconomics (Face-to-Face)

ECON 2010-02

Course: ECON 2010-02
Credits: 3
Term: Fall Semester 2025
Department: ECON
CRN: 30173

Course Description

Introduction to basic microeconomic principles: price theory, theory of the firm, trade and comparative advantage, public goods, taxation, welfare economics, and industrial organization. Public policy with regard to the environment, consumer protection, and other problems is also examined. (Fall, Spring, Summer) [Graded (Standard Letter)]

Required Texts

Textbook
Principles of Microeconomics, 4th edition, by Dirk Mateer & Lee Coppock, publisher, W.W. Norton. For this course, I will be using the “Inclusive Access Course Materials” so that you have access to the materials from day one. You should have received an email from the bookstore regarding detailed instructions on how to access the materials on Canvas.

Instructions to access digital materials:

  • Please sign in to Canvas and click the activity link from your course to access the digital resources. You will automatically be logged in; therefore, entering a password is not required.
  • Here is a link to the Inclusive Access Videos to assist you on how to access your course materials. Inclusive Access Videos
  • You can always reach out to the publisher's help desk by creating a case at Publisher Help Desk. Sometimes this is ideal in case it needs further investigation.

Learning Outcomes

This class will acquaint students with the principles of microeconomics. Microeconomics is basically the study of economic decision making. You will learn classical microeconomic tools and frameworks and apply microeconomic reasoning to analyze market phenomena. You will be able to understand why markets may fail and how to overcome these failures. You will be expected to not only learn the principles of microeconomics, but most importantly apply them. Whereas it is easy to memorize information, learning to apply these concepts takes practice and deeper thought.

It should be noted that, in order to ensure logical consistency, economists make extensive use of math. The math you will employ in this class is reasonably simple: graphs and algebra. However, if you are uncomfortable with basic math, and/or have been away from your math book for some time, I recommend you do some reviewing before the class begins (it will save heartache later on). I highly encourage you to do the Math and Graph Review assignments within Canvas. These are ungraded assignments and are solely for your practice.

Course Requirements

Grading
The grading scale (in %) is as follows:

  • A = 92 to 100
  • A- = 90 to < 92
  • B+ = 87 to <90
  • B = 82 to <87
  • B- = 80 to <82
  • C+ = 77 to <80
  • C = 72 to <77
  • C- = 70 to <72
  • D+ = 67 to <70
  • D = 62 to <67
  • D- = 55 to <62
  • F < 55

Final Grade Weights

  • 20% Midterm 1
  • 20% Midterm 2
  • 20% Midterm 3
  • 20% Homework
  • 20% Quiz

Assessment of Student Learning
Exams
This course has three midterm exams, each worth 20% of the final grade. All the midterms will be through Canvas. I will provide a five-day window to take the exams. Each exam will be proctored on campus in the SUU Testing Center. There will not be any in-person class on the exam days so that you can utilize that time to take the exam if you wish.

Homework Assignments:
These will be available within each module on Canvas. The last page of the syllabus has the due dates for the HW assignments. These deadlines are the first deadlines, but you will get an extension till the date when reviews for each Midterm are due. After the second deadline, I will not extend the deadline any further. The purpose of these assignments is to identify the areas that need further understanding and to prepare yourself for the exams. Keeping this in mind, you have unlimited attempts on these assignments to ensure thorough understanding. You are welcome to discuss or work on your homework assignments with your classmates as long as you submit your own work on canvas. The homework score average is worth 20% of your final grade.

Quizzes
This course has six short take-home quizzes. All the quizzes will have multiple choice questions and will be through Canvas. I will provide a two-day window to take these quizzes. You will have two attempts for each question. The quiz score average is worth 20% of your final grade.

Course Outline

WeekDateTopicAssignment Due
Week 128-AugSyllabus + Ch 1: Five Foundations of EconomicsNone
Week 22-SepCh 2: Model BuildingMath + Graph Review
4-SepCh 2 continued: Gains of TradeCh 1 HW
Week 39-SepCh 3: Demand and SupplyCh 2 HW
11-SepCh 3 continued: Simultaneous shiftQuiz 1 (Ch 1 and 2)
Week 416-SepCh 4: ElasticityCh 3 HW
18-SepCh 4 continued: Types of ElasticityNone
Week 523-SepReview for Midterm 1Ch 4 HW + Quiz 2 ( Ch 3 and 4)
25-SepMIDTERM 1 (Ch 1,2,3, and 4)
Week 630-SepCh 5: Tax incidence
2-OctCh 5 continued: Tax and elasticityNone
Week 77-OctCh 6: Price controlsCh 5 HW
9-OctCh 6 continued: Types of Price Controls + Ch 7: ExternalitiesQuiz 3 (Ch 5 and 6)
Week 814-OctFall Break
16-OctCh 7 continued: Types of goodCh 6 HW
Week 921-OctCh 8: Profit and lossCh 7 HW
23-OctCh 9: Competitive marketCh 8 HW
Week 1028-OctReview for Midterm 2Quiz 4 (Ch 7 and 8)
30-OctMIDTERM 2 (Ch 5,6,7, and 8)
Week 114-NovCh 9 continued: Supply curve + Ch 10: MonopolyCh 9 HW
6-NovCh 10: Problems + SolutionsCh 10 HW
Week 1211-NovCh 11: Price DiscriminationQuiz 5 (Ch 9 and 10)
13-NovCh 12: Monopolistic CompetitionCh 11 HW
Week 1318-NovCh 13: OligopolyCh 12 HW
20-NovReview for Midterm 3Quiz 6 (Ch 11 and 12)
Week 1425-NovHAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Week 152-DecMIDTERM 3 (Ch 9,10,11, and 12)
4-DecTBD

Instructor's policies on late assignments and/or makeup work

Class Policies
• Late/missed exams: The midterms will have a five-business day window. If you have a valid reason for missing an exam, this needs to be cleared with the professor BEFORE the exam is administered, and any accommodations are at the discretion of the professor.
• Arriving late to class: Out of respect to your fellow students and the professor, please arrive before class begins. In case I don’t show up before class time, please wait 10 minutes before you disperse.
• Communication: You are responsible for monitoring your SUU email and the course website on Canvas regularly for updates regarding the course.

Late Work and Extensions Policy
All weekly homework assignments are due by 11:59 PM on the date published on the syllabus. For the Quizzes, you will get 48 hours’ time starting from 8 AM the day before the quiz is due to 11:59 PM on the due date (two business day windows).

Attendance Policy

This is an interactive course in which you are expected to actively participate. Although attendance is not mandatory, my experience suggests that you will soon realize that the opportunity cost of missing a class for this course is quite high! If you do miss a class, it is your responsibility to arrange with classmates to catch up on any missed notes or work. No make-up assignments will be offered for this course.

Course Fees

Content for this section will be provided by the instructor.

Custom

Instructor: Shubha Basu (she/her)
Office: Bennion Building # 312 D
Email: shubhashritabasu@suu.edu
Office hours: 12:00-2:00 PM Tue and Thurs
Class meetings: Tue and Thurs: 2:30-3:45 PM.
Classroom: BUS #126
Class website: Canvas

Disclaimer Statement
Information contained in this syllabus, other than the grading, late assignments, makeup work, and attendance policies, may be subject to change with advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.

Course Schedule
The course schedule is tentative and subject to change. The professor reserves the right to deviate from this plan as needed, including changing the order of the chapters covered, eliminating chapters, or adding other chapters or modules to the list below.

ADA Statement

Students with medical, psychological, learning, or other disabilities desiring academic adjustments, accommodations, or auxiliary aids will need to contact the Disability Resource Center, located in Room 206F of the Sharwan Smith Center or by phone at (435) 865-8042. The Disability Resource Center determines eligibility for and authorizes the provision of services.

If your instructor requires attendance, you may need to seek an ADA accommodation to request an exception to this attendance policy. Please contact the Disability Resource Center to determine what, if any, ADA accommodations are reasonable and appropriate.

Academic Credit

According to the federal definition of a Carnegie credit hour: A credit hour of work is the equivalent of approximately 60 minutes of class time or independent study work. A minimum of 45 hours of work by each student is required for each unit of credit. Credit is earned only when course requirements are met. One (1) credit hour is equivalent to 15 contact hours of lecture, discussion, testing, evaluation, or seminar, as well as 30 hours of student homework. An equivalent amount of work is expected for laboratory work, internships, practica, studio, and other academic work leading to the awarding of credit hours. Credit granted for individual courses, labs, or studio classes ranges from 0.5 to 15 credit hours per semester.

Academic Freedom

SUU is operated for the common good of the greater community it serves. The common good depends upon the free search for truth and its free exposition. Academic Freedom is the right of faculty to study, discuss, investigate, teach, and publish. Academic Freedom is essential to these purposes and applies to both teaching and research.

Academic Freedom in the realm of teaching is fundamental for the protection of the rights of the faculty member and of you, the student, with respect to the free pursuit of learning and discovery. Faculty members possess the right to full freedom in the classroom in discussing their subjects. They may present any controversial material relevant to their courses and their intended learning outcomes, but they shall take care not to introduce into their teaching controversial materials which have no relation to the subject being taught or the intended learning outcomes for the course.

As such, students enrolled in any course at SUU may encounter topics, perspectives, and ideas that are unfamiliar or controversial, with the educational intent of providing a meaningful learning environment that fosters your growth and development. These parameters related to Academic Freedom are included in SUU Policy 6.6.

Academic Misconduct

Scholastic honesty is expected of all students. Dishonesty will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent (see SUU Policy 6.33). You are expected to have read and understood the current SUU student conduct code (SUU Policy 11.2) regarding student responsibilities and rights, the intellectual property policy (SUU Policy 5.52), information about procedures, and what constitutes acceptable behavior.

Please Note: The use of websites or services that sell essays is a violation of these policies; likewise, the use of websites or services that provide answers to assignments, quizzes, or tests is also a violation of these policies. Regarding the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), you should check with your individual course instructor.

Emergency Management Statement

In case of an emergency, the University's Emergency Notification System (ENS) will be activated. Students are encouraged to maintain updated contact information using the link on the homepage of the mySUU portal. In addition, students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Emergency Response Protocols posted in each classroom. Detailed information about the University's emergency management plan can be found at https://www.suu.edu/emergency.

HEOA Compliance Statement

For a full set of Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) compliance statements, please visit https://www.suu.edu/heoa. The sharing of copyrighted material through peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, except as provided under U.S. copyright law, is prohibited by law; additional information can be found at https://my.suu.edu/help/article/1096/heoa-compliance-plan.

You are also expected to comply with policies regarding intellectual property (SUU Policy 5.52) and copyright (SUU Policy 5.54).

Mandatory Reporting

University policy (SUU Policy 5.60) requires instructors to report disclosures received from students that indicate they have been subjected to sexual misconduct/harassment. The University defines sexual harassment consistent with Federal Regulations (34 C.F.R. Part 106, Subpart D) to include quid pro quo, hostile environment harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking. When students communicate this information to an instructor in-person, by email, or within writing assignments, the instructor will report that to the Title IX Coordinator to ensure students receive support from the Title IX Office. A reporting form is available at https://cm.maxient.com/reportingform.php?SouthernUtahUniv

Non-Discrimination Statement

SUU is committed to fostering an inclusive community of lifelong learners and believes our university's encompassing of different views, beliefs, and identities makes us stronger, more innovative, and better prepared for the global society.

SUU does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, sex (including sex discrimination and sexual harassment), sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ancestry, disability status, pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, genetic information, military status, veteran status, or other bases protected by applicable law in employment, treatment, admission, access to educational programs and activities, or other University benefits or services.

SUU strives to cultivate a campus environment that encourages freedom of expression from diverse viewpoints. We encourage all to dialogue within a spirit of respect, civility, and decency.

For additional information on non-discrimination, please see SUU Policy 5.27 and/or visit https://www.suu.edu/nondiscrimination.

Pregnancy

Students who are or become pregnant during this course may receive reasonable modifications to facilitate continued access and participation in the course. Pregnancy and related conditions are broadly defined to include pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, lactation, related medical conditions, and recovery. To obtain reasonable modifications, please make a request to title9@suu.edu. To learn more visit: https://www.suu.edu/titleix/pregnancy.html.

Disclaimer Statement

Information contained in this syllabus, other than the grading, late assignments, makeup work, and attendance policies, may be subject to change with advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.