All announcements will be stored here. Recent announcements will also appear on the course home page.

4/29: Final exam grades, course averages, and letter grades have now been posted in  Blackboard. I will remind you that grades are assigned exactly as described in the syllabus. 

4/24: I have posted your quiz and module credit scores in Blackboard. You can use these scores, along with your test grades to forecast your grade using the Gradecheck Spreadsheet.

4/20: Repeated Announcement: If you wish to calculate your average or forecast your grade, you might find the Gradecheck Spreadsheet to be helpful.

4/18: I have now posted the video from last night's Problem Session (covering Chapter 23) on the Class Video Page.

4/13: Test scores and detailed results are now available to you in the "My Grades" area of Blackboard.

4/12: I am again accepting requests for changes in times scheduled for the final exam. 
The original schedule is posted here:

Final Exam Preliminary Schedule

If you made a request that has already been approved (in the early request period), you do not need to make a request again. Yunlu willl be maintaining the schedule and will reply to your requests. Keep in mind that it is not possible for everyone to take the final exam early. If you are scheduled for Saturday and do NOT have an urgent need to reschedule to an earlier time, I encourage you to keep your assigned slot.

4/11: I have now posted the video from last night's Problem Session (covering Chapter 22) on the Class Video Page.

4/10: This week's problem session will be held tonight, beginning at 7 pm, Room 750. This is the usual day and time, but the schedule had the incorrect date. I have now fixed that.

4/3: I have now posted the video from last night's Problem Session (covering Chapter 21) on the Class Video Page.

3/28:  I have now posted the video from last night's Problem Session (covering Chapters 20, 17, 18, and 19) on the Class Video Page.

3/23: Repeated Announcement: If you wish to calculate your average or forecast your grade, you might find the Gradecheck Spreadsheet to be helpful.

3/23: Test 4 starting time interval assignments are now available. That test is scheduled for April 10 - 12. As usual, you can request an alternative time. Please send a message to econ224@professorchappell.com and be sure to indicate what time slot you would prefer. Please make your request by 4/3. Although we will consider late requests, late requestors will probably be assigned to the last starting time interval (10:00 - 10:45 PM on 4/2). My TA, Yunlu, will be maintaining the schedule and responding to your requests.

Click here to see Test 4 assigned starting times. 

3/23:Test 3 grades can now be viewed in Blackboard. I have posted an "adjusted" Test 3 score for you in blackboard. This will be the grade for Test 3 that counts in your final grade calculation. I have simply given everyone 3.34 points (the equivalent of one more correct answer). This is intended to be a correction for the incorrectly applied time limit on the test (you were given only 60 minutes when the intended limit was 75 minutes.

Apparently the time limit was not an issue for most students; most tests were completed in less than 40 minutes, and some very high scores were recorded in less than 30 minutes.

3/21:  I have now posted the video from last night's Problem Session (covering Chapters 15 and 16) on the Class Video Page.

3/14: I have now posted the video from last night's Problem Session (covering Chapter 14) on the Class Video Page.

3/07: Room changes! The tutorial session scheduled for 7-10 pm on March 19 will instead be held in room BA 150 (inside the first floor computer center). As previously announced, the tutorial sessions will be held in Room 003 on March 26 and April 2. After that, the sessions will return to BA 750.

3/05: Test 3 starting time interval assignments are now available. As usual, you can request an alternative time. Please send a message to econ224@professorchappell.com and be sure to indicate what time slot you would prefer. Please make your request by 3/14. Although we will consider late requests, late requestors will probably be assigned to the last starting time interval (10:00 - 10:45 PM on 3/22). 

Click here to see Test 3 assigned starting times. 

Note: Yunlu is also on Spring break, so you may not receive confirmations of new times until he returns.

2/29: I would like to draw your attention to a charitable event coming up. "St. Baldrick's" is a charity supporting research on childhood cancers. Since 2007, Columbia has hosted a fundraiser. Participants in the event ask for contributions from sponsors, and then have their heads shaved to show support and solidarity with children who have cancer. This year's event will be held at Jillians's in the Vista on March 24. Ivan Baughman, the local event chairman, is interested in getting more support from university students for this event. I know that Carolina students have generously supported other causes, including Relay for Life and the Dance Marathon. Some University students have participated in St. Baldrick's (D.L. Moore earned $1300 last year for shaving his dreadlocks last year), but I would like to encourage others. If you are interested in participating, you can get more information here:

http://www.stbaldricks.org/events/mypage/15/2012

or e-mail Ivan Baughman:

Email Ivan

You can also contact me for more information.

2/29: I have now posted the video from last night's Problem Session (covering Chapter 13) on the Class Video Page.

2/28: This announcement regards an upcoming room change. The tutorial sessions normally held in room BA701 on Monday nights will instead meet in Room 003 on March 26 and April 2 only. This classroom is not a computer lab, so you might wish to bring a laptop or print out questions you would like to have answered in advance.

2/24:  I have now posted These Problems from Chapter 13 to be covered in the 2/28 problem session.

2/23: If you wish to calculate your average or forecast your grade, you might find the Gradecheck Spreadsheet to be helpful.

2/22: I have now posted the video from last night's Problem Session (covering Chapter 12) on the Class Video Page.

2/16:  I have now posted These Problems from Chapter 12 to be covered in the 2/21 problem session.

2/15: Video for the 2/14 problem session covering Chapters 10 and 11 is now available from the Class Video Page.

2/13:  I have now posted These Problems from Chapter 10 and These Problems from Chapter 11 to be covered in the 2/7 problem session.

2/12: I encourage you to read and comment (on Facebook) on this article:

How Class Warfare Begins, By PETER FUNT, February 11, 2012 

2/8: I have now posted the video from last night's Problem Session (covering Chapters 7 and 8) on the Class Video Page.

2/8: As a result of an error by me, the MEF2 module expired early this morning (at about 1 am) and disappeared from Blackboard . It should have been available until 11 am. It is now available again. I have set a new due date for Monday, 2/13, at 11 am. 

2/7: I have now posted the Test 2 Schedule. That test is scheduled for 2/21 - 2/23. I you would like to request a change in your assigned time, please send a message to econ224@professorchappell.com. Please Make your request by Tuesday, 2/14, and please indicate which time slot you would like to be assigned to. We will try to honor all requests made by 2/14; however, we may not always be able to assign you to your most preferred time. My TA, Yunlu Shu, will maintain the test schedule and all revisions to it. 

2/5: I have now posted These Problems from Chapter 7 and These Problems from Chapter 8 to be covered in the 2/7 problem session.

2/3: Test scores and detailed results are now available to you in the "My Grades" area of Blackboard.

1/31: Test results will be available to you in the "My Grades" area of Blackboard on Friday morning, after everyone has finished taking the test. I will send an e-mail announcement when the test results have been made visible. You will be able to see your scores, as well as the questions and answers for your specific test.

1/31: I have now posted the video from last night's Chapter 6 Problem Session on the Class Video Page.

1/30: I have now posted These Problems from Chapter 6 to be covered in the 1/31 problem session.

1/30: I have now posted the Preliminary Schedule for the Final Exam. I am posting this now for those who would like to have information about the exam schedule before making end-of-semester travel plans. For a period of one week, ending Monday 2/6 at 11 am, you can request a change in the time for your final exam. My TA, Yunlu, will respond to your requests. After that time, we will NOT accept requests until later in the semester (after Test 4). At that time we will again permit requests for changes. 

1/25: I have now posted the video from last night's Chapter 5 Problem Session on the Class Video Page.

1/24: I have made several revisions to the course FAQ on the matter of the glitch that Blackboard has occasionally displayed with the "in progress" grade indicator. This makes the course FAQ compatible with my 1/18 announcement about this issue.

1/24: I will have a change in office hours for today (1/24). Office hours today will be from from 9:30 -11:00 am and from 5:15 pm to 6 pm. This is a one-time change; unless noted, the usual schedule applies hereafter.

1/22: I have posted Problems from Chapter 5, which I will go over in the 1/17 problem session. 

1/20: I have made a few small changes to the test information document that was previously been available through links from the schedule page. Before taking the test, please look at the Test  Procedures.

1/20: I have now posted the Test 1 Schedule. I you would like to request a change in your assigned time, please send a message to econ224@professorchappell.com. Please Make your request by Wednesday, 1/25, and please indicate which time slot you would like to be assigned to. We will try to honor all requests made by 1/25; however, we may not always be able to assign you to your most preferred time. My TA, Yunlu Shu, will maintain the test schedule and all revisions to it. 

1/19: An updated list of tutors available for Econ224 can be found by clicking here. These tutors charge a fee of 420.00 per hour. The course FAQ has information on free tutoring services.

1/18: I want to add a bit to the discussion of the grading problem in Blackboard. As the 1/17 announcement describes, sometimes the "in progress" icon is still displayed even after you have completed a lecture module and received a grade. For many of you, this has NOT been a problem -- I have not been able to reproduce the problem myself; I find that with recent editions of Firefox and Internet Explorer, at least, Blackboard behaves well. This suggests that it is a good idea to use updated versions of these browsers. You should also have an up-to-date version of Flash installed. However, if you do encounter a problem I have further advice below:

(1) Please check your grades. Go to Blackboard, choose, Econ224, select "Tools/Grades" from the panel on the left, then click "My Grades."

(2) Scroll down to see the grades currently recorded for your assignments. If all the grades look correct and you do not see the "in progress icon" (below), you do not need to do anything.

(3) If you do see the "in progress" icon where your grade is displayed, you should investigate further. If you click on your grade entry (or the "in progress" icon), Blackboard will display a complete history of your attempts on the assignment. 

(4) If in that history you have one or more acceptable grades on the assignment, you do not need to retake the assignment -- send an email message to econ224@professorchappell.com to request that we clear the "in progress" attempt, and your grade will revert to the highest of your other attempts. Once the problem appears, retaking the module 15 or 20 times does not seem to solve it -- so save yourself the trouble and send us a message instead.

(5) If the history displays no numerical grades, you still need to complete the assignment. Otherwise you will receive a grade of zero.

1/17: Video Also Delayed! It has been a bad day for Econ224. The sound was not properly captured in tonight's video recording session. I will need to re-record it tomorrow and post it with a delay.

1/17: Assignment Due Dates Delayed! First, because of a technical problem, I will be delaying the due date for all assignments originally due on 1/18. Those assignments will now be due on 1/20 at 11 am.

Now for the technical problem: Apparently Blackboard is not always automatically deleting the "in progress" indicator even when you go back and resubmit a module. If you are unable to clear the "in progress" icon by completing the module again, please send me an e-mail and ask me to clear that attempt manually. Once the "in progress" attempt is cleared, your reported grade should revert to the highest grade you have completed on that module. This problem may be unique to the Chrome browser (I'm not yet sure). Blackboard support has suggested avoiding the Chrome browser, so I will ask you to do that. 

1/16: I have posted Problems from Chapter 4, which I will go over in the 1/17 problem session. 

1/13: (Please see my 1/18 update on this matter) I have been looking at the Blackboard grade book for this class, and see many modules or quizzes that are listed as "in progress." This happens when you exit a module or quiz abnormally prior to completing or submitting. This is apparently an easy thing to do. When you look at your grades, this outcome is indicated by a small icon showing what appears to be a pencil in front of notepaper (see below):

If you see this icon, you have a problem, because a listing of "in progress" is translated into a grade of zero when I download grades. Even if you see a numerical grade next to the "in progress" icon, the underlying recorded graded is zero. 

Please look at your grades in Blackboard. If you see any modules or quizzes displaying the "in progress" icons, you need to re-enter that quiz/module and complete it normally. If you have already completed the module once and received a good grade, you still need to enter the module and then exit it normally. If you wish, just go navigate to a slide near the end of the module, wait for the module to end, and close the window. After a normal ending, Blackboard should once again record your highest grade instead of the "in progress" icon.

In a class with 400 students and about 70 modules and quizzes, I cannot manually change zeros to a grade every time a student exits Blackboard abnormally. That is why I ask you to check your grades and take corrective action if you see the "in progress" icon. If you have a problem with this, you can see me in office hours (next office hours are Tuesday, 1/17, 4 - 6 pm).

1/11: I understand that the Chrome browser has a glitch when playing lecture modules--when you click a link pointing to an external site, the result does not appear in a new tab or window, but instead replaces the module window, making a return to finish the module impossible. I am seeking a solution on this. If anyone has a solution in terms of Chrome settings, please let me know. In the meantime, I suggest using Internet Explorer or Firefox. I presume that Safari works for Apple users also. 

1/11: The video for the 1/10 problem session is now available on the Class Video Page.

1/10: I will have the regular weekly problem session tonight at 7 pm in Room BA 750. A problem handout for Chapter 3 problems is posted on the Class Video Page. Later, I will post the video there also. 

1/10: Video for the information session has now been posted on the Class Video Page. I suggest that you choose to watch the streaming video rather than download the file (streaming does require Flash).

I encourage you to start working with lecture modules now. No assignments are due until January 18, but this is only because of the long drop/add period. You will find that many assignments are due on January 18, and you should be working on those now.

1/10: Video for the course introduction session will be made available later today. I will send an announcement when it is available.

1/03/12: The tentative exam dates listed in my 11/29/11 announcement are now confirmed.

12/1/11: This course does not have regular class meetings. However, I will hold an information session on January 9, in room 008 of the Business Administration building, from 7 pm to 8 pm. This session will be video-recorded and posted to the web so that you can watch it later if you prefer. I will go over the organization of the course and answer questions.

11/29: Under Construction! More information to come. 

If you want more information about the likely structure of the class, please look at the syllabus for the Fall 2011 class, or the frequently asked questions:

Fall 2011 Syllabus

Fall 2011 FAQ

I will make some changes for Spring 2012, but at this time I cannot say exactly what will change. Please be patient.

I can give textbook information and test dates:

Textbook: Gregory Mankiw, Essentials of Economics. I recommend that you purchase a used copy of the 5th edition (ISBN 978-0324590029). Currently copies are available on Amazon at prices below $5.00. Alternatively, you may purchase the newer 6th Edition (ISBN 978-1133162933) for $289.00. The only person who should consider buying the 6th edition at the bookstore is someone with a scholarship that covers all book expenses. If you buy the 6th edition, it will have a higher resale value at the end of the semester.

This will be an online class. There will be no regular mandatory class meetings. However, You will need to take tests on the Columbia campus in a proctored lab. Tests will be scheduled to be taken within in 3-day intervals. You will have some flexibility regarding the specific time you must take the test within the listed intervals. I will assign you a time, but will grant requests for changes so long as space is available. Final exam dates shown below are tentative. 

Test 1:

1/31 8:30 pm -12:00 midnight
2/1 4:00 pm – 12:00 midnight
2/2 8:30 pm -12:00 midnight

Test 2:

2/21 8:30 pm -12:00 midnight
2/22 4:00 pm – 12:00 midnight
2/23 8:30 pm -12:00 midnight

Test 3:

3/20 8:30 pm -12:00 midnight
3/21 4:00 pm – 12:00 midnight
3/22 8:30 pm -12:00 midnight

Test 4:

4/10, 8:30 pm -12:00 midnight
4/11 4:00 pm – 12:00 midnight
4/12 8:30 pm -12:00 midnight

Tentative Final Exam Schedule (May need to be changed):

4/25 8:30 pm -12:00 midnight
4/26 4:00 pm – 12:00 midnight
4/27 8:30 pm -12:00 midnight
4/28 9 am to 5 pm.