Microeconomics (BUS 1103) and Macroeconomics (BUS 1104) at UoPeople

Microeconomics (BUS 1103) and Macroeconomics (BUS 1104) are both very informative courses at the UoPeople. However, pairing them together wasn't the best decision I made. I ended up getting the same instructor for both the classes, who was stern as heck. He only showed up once in the entire term, and that too, at the beginning of the term, to just tell us upfront that grades given by other students through peer assessment were final. I was graded unfairly quite often in both courses, and there wasn't anything I could do. I hear people telling me, "Contact your instructor" on the Facebook groups, but what do you do when your instructor is reluctant to have a look at the hard work you've put in your assignments?

The Microeconomics class was pretty crowded with well over 40 students. It was the biggest class I have come across at the UoPeople thus far, followed by Greek and Roman Civilization. There were heated arguments between a few students in the discussion board as well, but guess what, the instructor never showed up to fix the situation. Macroeconomics, on the other hand, had no more than 16-18 students. The students in Macroeconomics were far patient than Microeconomics. 

Both courses required extensive research and critical thinking when it comes to the Discussion, Written, and Learning Journals. If you don't read the prescribed chapters and do your research, rest assured you won't get a good grade on the mentioned part of the course. Additionally, as my instructor was strict, so was his grading. He followed a fixed rubric in the learning journal. If your work didn't include an introduction, thesis statement, body, and conclusion, he took off quite a lot of marks. He was sort of an instructor; you wouldn't be able to tell what he wanted out of the assignments. The best resources I found apart from the textbooks for both the courses are Jacob Clifford and Economics Help.

The Graded Quizzes were straightforward in both the courses. However, the Final Exams were extremely hard. I'm kind of a person, who takes extensive notes and prepare well before the final exam, but boy oh boy, the finals were something. They both had 40-45 questions with only 1:30hr given to finish them. They had a lot of graphs and math involved, which, to be honest, I didn't expect. Graphs are my kryptonite, and they bewilder me. I don't know if it was intentional, but the Final Exam of Microeconomics had the topics which we only covered in Macroeconomics and vice versa, which made me a bit confused during the exam. I got like 13/20 and 14/20 on Microeconomics and Macroeconomics' Final Exams and ended up getting a B and an A- on them, respectively. These courses are the only ones I've taken at the school, which I felt required at least 2hrs to do the final. After the final, I talked to my classmates, and they felt the same way.

All I can say about the final is that make sure you can recognize all economic factors by just looking at the graphs (right, left, up, down, curved, any which way). For example, by just looking at the graph, you get asked to tell how the economy is operating with different variables, etc. Also, make certain you know how to solve GDP, output, and total costs-related problems among the other things.

Final thoughts, my advice is don't take Microeconomics and Macroeconomics together. They're informative courses, but you might not be able to give them the time they demand when taken together. Also, similar topics in both classes might confuse you, just like it bewildered me. Study practical examples of identifying and solving different graphical curves in Micro/Macro before taking the Final Exam as you'll be tested on them. Lastly, try talking to your program advisor about changing the group if your instructor is unwilling to change grades. Do this ASAP; otherwise, you might not be able to do it but then get stuck with an instructor under who you wouldn't enjoy taking a class.