Distance learning Macroeconomics and Microeconomics courses

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by pragma, Apr 25, 2005.

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  1. pragma

    pragma New Member

    I need to take introductory micro and macro courses this summer before starting graduate school. In particular I need to take courses that roughly correspond to the ones offered by LSE in their summer program. However, I would like to take them, if possible, as distance learning courses. The LSE microeconomics course is taught off of R.H. Frank's "Microeconomics and Behavior" with Hal Varian's intermediate economics textbook as suggested reading; the macroeconomics course uses Perlman's macroeconomics textbook. Given that all of the correspondence courses that I've found employ multiple choice tests, I'm a little worried that they're not rigorous enough to satisfy these requirements. Does anyone know of any good Micro and Macro distance learning courses? Is multiple choice okay because it's the norm for all introductory courses?
     
  2. edowave

    edowave Active Member

    Multiple choice is fine. Most of the Intro or "Principles" courses are graded like that because they usually have a lot of students in them.

    UF has some excellent DL intro to macro and micro economics courses. See http://www.distancelearning.ufl.edu/Courses.asp

    Cheaper for out of state students and more flexible is LSU: http://www.is.lsu.edu/courselist.asp?cat=Economics&nid=102&pg=

    Both should be more than rigorous enough to suit your needs. If you are total newbie to economics, I highly recommend reading "Naked Economics", not a text, but a paperback by Charles Wheelan before you start with the text. It's much more interesting to read than a textbook. I also here "Economics In One Lesson" by Henry Hazlitt is very good.
     
  3. cdhale

    cdhale Member

    I am sure there are quite a few classes you could take, were time not an issue, such as San Juan college's online offerings which at about $35 per credit hour for out of state students is fairly attractive. However, they operate on the semester system so you couldn't take that course until next fall.

    I would look at the independent courses, such as the LSU listed above or perhaps these

    BYU
    University of Idaho (I am not sure if this is independent or semester based)

    of perhaps best of all
    Sam Houston
    I like the SHU or LSU offerings the best. Not that I have taken them, but they are cheapest, I do believe.

    hope some of those help.
     
  4. spmoran

    spmoran Member

    Pragma, I don't know where you are located, so I don't know if CLEP is feasible for you. CLEP has these exams. My experience with distance learning is that it is almost exactly the same as studying a textbook and then taking a CLEP test. I've not had much instruction at all, as the instructors tend to really be "graders". For $100 bucks, you might be able to get a good used text and take the CLEP. That amounts to about $33 per credit. It doesn't get much cheaper than that.

    Perhaps you are not near a CLEP exam site or the exams won't work for the school you want to attend, I don't know. Otherwise, I'd check them out.
     
  5. pragma

    pragma New Member

    Does anyone know anything about the UC Berkeley extension economics distance learning courses? Are they supposed to be any good?
     

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