I recently took a class titled "Basic Digital Photography" for my BA, and for that class I purchased a
Kodak DX7630 , and it worked very well. I took over 800 pictures in 8 weeks with this camera and only had to change the battery a couple of times.
The camera is a 6.1 MP, so you do need a hefty card to get a decent amount of images. It is easy to use, has plenty of macros, and even limited Manual mode. The price wasn't too bad either for the camera.