Welcome to Economics 2 on the Internet! I have been teaching economics on the Internet for over
ten years and in this time
have seen an explosion in the number of Web-based courses being offered to college students. For
many of you this will not be
the first online course you have taken and you already know that taking a course in this way
requires above-average self-
discipline. I am pointing this out now because I do not want you to be disappointed with your
performance in my class. You may
also know that you could not have chosen a better time to study economics. The U.S. is a major
player in an extremely dynamic
global economy and is slowly recovering from the most severe financial/economic downturn since the
Great Depression.
Almost every day economists and other policy-makers are required to adjust their views, and even to
change some of their basic
assumptions, as new data and unfolding events challenge their theories about how a modern economy
operates. Using the rich
information resources on the World Wide Web will give you access to the latest data and debate, and
I look forward to our
interactions with each other on the important issues in microeconomics.
You can reach me by e-mail at anytime.
The course is divided into 16 parts and you can see the syllabus and schedule online. There are
individual assignments due
for each part. You should read the course introduction as soon as you log
on for the first time. This
will give you a good overview of the course and the basic requirements. It is obviously important to
get a running start and to
work out any problems right away.
During the first week of class there may system-related problems and I can assist you with these.
Be prepared to spend a minimum of 9-12 hours per week using and studying the course materials.
