Principles of Macroeconomics Syllabus for 2026-2027
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Instructor Information

Office Hours

Instructor: Kendra Pulley

Fall 2026 Office Hours

Office:  Wednesday 4:00 PM - 5:15 PM

Office Hours: In person and virtual office hours are by appointment.  

Email: Current students are expected to email me through your course messages in Blackboard.  Make sure you are in your course and click the envelope next to my name on the left side menu of your course.  IF Blackboard is down, you can email me directly.

All others can email kdpulley@actx.edu.

If you email me directly, always provide your first and last name, class and section number if currently enrolled or student id if not currently enrolled.  Unless Blackboard is down, currently enrolled students are expected to email me from the course messages.

You can address me as Instructor Pulley or Mrs. Pulley in your email. 

Course Information

AI Statement

Collusion is defined as “the unauthorized collaboration with another person or by any other means, including artificial intelligence (AI) and computer translators, in preparing work for fulfillment of course requirements.” Using AI like (ChatGPT or Google Gemini) to create a document is considered colluding. The use of Generative Artificial Intelligence on specific assignments is at the discretion of the instructor.

Title IX and Sexual Misconduct Reporting

Amarillo College prohibits discrimination and harassment based on sex, including sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking, under Title IX and Texas Education Code §51.253–255. Faculty and staff are mandatory reporters and must share any related concerns with the Title IX Coordinator at titleix@actx.edu. Reports and additional information are available at https://www.actx.edu/hr/title-ixtitle-ix. Confidential counseling and advocacy services are available through the Counseling Center and Advocacy & Resource Center.

Recording Policy

Disability Statement

If you have a disability (learning, mental, physical) that affects your ability to participate effectively and have access to any program or service at Amarillo College please contact Disability Services at (806) 345-5639 . Our offices are located in the Enrollment Center, Suite 700. More information may be found at www.actx.edu/disability.
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As a student you may experience a range of issues that can cause barriers to learning, such as strained relationships, increased anxiety, alcohol/drug problems, feeling down, difficulty concentrating and/or lack of motivation. These mental health concerns or stressful events may lead to diminished academic performance or reduce a student's ability to participate in daily activities. Amarillo College offers services to assist you with addressing these and other concerns you may be experiencing. If you or someone you know are suffering from any of the aforementioned conditions, you can learn more about the broad range of confidential mental health services available on campus by calling the AC Counseling Center at 806-371-5900. The AC Counseling Center website is https://www.actx.edu/counseling/ . Also, if you are in need of social services (affordable housing, utilities, transportation, food, clothing, childcare, medical/dental/vision, legal), please call the AC Advocacy & Resource Center at 806-371-5439. The AC Advocacy & Resource Center website is https://www.actx.edu/arc

Amarillo College Tutoring for Success Policy:

Tutoring for Success applies to any student whose overall performance in the course falls below 75%. The instructor will create the task in the Student Engagement Portal (Watermark) to direct the student to the appropriate tutoring service, which may be faculty- or SI-led, discipline-specific, and/or general. The tutoring service assigned, the due date for when the tutoring must be completed, and the amount of tutoring required are at the discretion of the instructor. Additionally, the task will alert the student’s success team. Students who do not fulfill the assigned tutoring task may be subject to program- and course-specific penalties that could result in a grade reduction and/or in not being allowed to progress in the course until the tutoring requirement has been satisfied.

Administrative Drop Policy

Students who do not attend class on or prior to the census date will be administratively dropped. Effective Fall, 2016

Student Withdrawal Procedures

Students who wish to withdraw from a course must complete all steps indicated on the Academic Withdrawal Request form by the course withdrawal deadline.

NOTE: Students who are attending Texas institutions of higher education, for the first time fall 2007 and later, may not withdraw from more than six courses during their academic career. This withdrawal limitation does not include dual credit or developmental classes (Senate Bill 1231 Rule 4.10.) For more information on Drop and Withdrawal Policies, please visit the Registrar's Office Web site.

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For-credit academic and workforce education courses offered at Amarillo College are limited to the course options available in the statewide inventory for two-year public institutions. Courses in the state-authorized lower-division Academic Course Guide Manual and Workforce Education Course Manual have specific descriptions that prescribe course content and may include specific student learning outcomes. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) maintains and regularly updates these manuals. Amarillo College faculty and leaders ensure that these courses are aligned with THECB guidelines and evaluated based on student performance outcomes. Students enrolled in these courses are expected to engage with and learn course content. According to the AC Board of Regents Policy Manual, "faculty members are entitled to academic freedom in the conduct of research and teaching and are tasked with the associated responsibilities" (DGC). Students are entitled to academic freedom in the classroom, as well, and faculty "must not attempt to force on students a personal viewpoint and must at all times allow diversity of opinion" (Amarillo College Academic Affairs Manual).

Course

ECON-2301-005 Principles of Macroeconomics

Prerequisites

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.

Student Resources Student Resources Website

Department Expectations

Occupational License Disclaimer

Notice to Students enrolled in an educational program for preparation of issuance of certain occupational licenses:

Students enrolled in an educational program in preparation for obtaining certain occupational licenses are potentially ineligible for such license if the student has been convicted of an offense. For further information, please contact:

Melodie Graves
Justice Involved Advocate
Student Service Center 117
mgraves24@actx.edu
806-371-5995
Make appointment at https://melodiegraves.youcanbook.me

Hours

(3 sem hrs 3 lec )

Class Type

Online Course

Syllabus Information

Textbooks

The textbook required for this course is Principles of Macroeconomics 23e by Campbell McConnell, Stanley Brue, and Sean Flynn. The ISBN for this textbook is 9781266748240.

Note: You will need the version of the textbook that includes the access code for Connect as this is where you will complete the majority of your coursework.

Supplies

Paper, pencil, and calculator.

Student Performance

  1. Define economics, state the nature of the "economic problem," and identify the three basic questions that all economic systems must answer.
  2. Construct a production possibility curve and explain how it illustrates concepts of opportunity costs, productive efficiency, and economic growth.
  3. Use elasticity of supply and demand to determine relative changes in price and quantity and cite practical application of these concepts.
  4. Describe the costs and revenues of production to include: fixed, average, variable, and marginal by use of graphs and mathematics.
  5. Apply game theory to economic analysis.
  6. Determine the profit maximization point of price and quantity of resources of pure competition and monopsony in the input markets by use of marginal analysis.
  7. Explain the advantages and disadvantage of government intervention in attempts of price floors and ceilings, public goods, inequality of information, and inequalities of income distribution.
  8. Explain the causes of positive and negative externalities in market economies and possible solutions.
  9. Demonstrate the advantages of free trade using the concept of comparative advantage.
  10. Use marginal analysis to make better business and personal decisions.

At the completion of the course you should show at least a minimum of 60% competency on the learning objectives listed in this syllabus.

Students Rights and Responsibilities

Student Rights and Responsibilities

Log in using the AC Connect Portal

In order to receive your AC Connect Email, you must log in through AC Connect at https://acconnect.actx.edu .

If you are an active staff or faculty member according to Human Resources, use "Exchange". All other students, use "AC Connect (Google) Email".

Expected Student Behavior

It is important for you to check BlackBoard regularly, take good notes, participate in discussion, and complete all assignments. You should read the material before attempting the assignments. 

Grading Criteria

I will determine your final grade with the following:

  1. Exams (highest 3 of 4 exam grades): 40%

  2. Homework (lowest 2 assignments dropped): 35%

  3. Economics Assignment: 15%

  4. SmartBook Readings: 10%

All assignments and exams have strict deadlines. 

Please pay attention to deadlines. All items for each week will be due on Sunday nights at 11:59 PM with the exception of the syllabus acknowledgment in week one due FRIDAY (10/30/26) and week eight that are due on WEDNESDAY (12/16/26) at 11:59 PM. SmartBook items will allow late submission through the final deadline of the semester with no penalty. All other items will allow late submission; however, you will incur a 15% late penalty for anything other than SmartBook submitted after the initial deadline. The final submission for all late work is the late course deadline of 12/16/26.

I encourage you to study with a classmate or with a study group. Do not cheat. If you cheat or the work you submit is not your own, you will receive a zero.

I do not give extra credit.

Your final course grade will consist of an average of:

  • A = 100 to 89.5
  • B = 79.5 to 89.4
  • C = 69.5 to 79.4
  • D = 59.5 to 69.4
  • F = 59.4 and below

Attendance

This is an online course with no live meetings.

Calendar

Week One

Chapter 1 - Limits, Alternatives, and Choices (Reading and Homework)

Chapter 2 - The Market System and the Circular Flow (Reading and Homework)

Week Two

Chapter 3 - Demand, Supply, and Market Equilibrium (Reading and Homework)

Chapter 5 - Public Goods, Public Choice, and Government Failure (Reading and Homework)

Economics Assignment Assigned (Due with Week Seven)

Exam One: Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 5

 

Week Three

Chapter 6 - An Introduction to Macroeconomics (Reading and Homework)

Chapter 7 - Measuring Domestic Output and National Income (Reading and Homework)

Week Four

Chapter 8 - Economic Growth (Reading and Homework)

Chapter 9 - Business Cycles, Unemployment, and Inflation (Reading and Homework)

Exam Two: Chapters 6, 7, 8, and 9

Week Five

Chapter 10 - Basic Macroeconomic Relationships (Reading and Homework)

Chapter 12 - Aggregate Demand and Aggergate Supply (Reading and Homework)

Week Six

Chapter 13 - Fiscal Policy, Deficits, and Debt (Reading and Homework)

Chapter 14 - Money, the Federal Reserve, and Interest Rates (Reading and Homework)

Exam Three: Chapters 10, 12, 13, and 14

Week Seven

Chapter 15 - Monetary Policy, GDP, and the Price Level (Reading and Homework)

Chapter 19 - International Trade (Reading and Homework)

Economics Assignment (Assigned in Week Two)

Week Eight

Final Exam: Chapters 15 and 19

Schedule subject to change throughout the semester.  Please check BlackBoard for the most up to date deadlines. 

Additional Information

Syllabus Created on:

10/12/26 1:51 PM

Last Edited on:

10/12/26 1:54 PM