Revised: 4/20/16


Effective Fall 2016, each course syllabus (regardless of delivery mode) MUST contain its credit hour calculations.

It is IMPERATIVE that faculty members ensure these calculations meet or exceed the minimum clock hours as listed in the following table:

Course Units


Minimum Total Student Work (expressed in 60-minute hours)

1

37.50 clock hours

2

75.00 clock hours

3

112.50 clock hours

4

150.00 clock hours

5

187.50 clock hours

Faculty are encouraged to copy/paste (and edit) the calculation table (example below) into your syllabi. If you choose to employ a different format, you must still include all of the table’s components (the bold/italic text in the table).

Course #: (enter here) Units: (enter here) – Credit Hour Calculations:

Hours

Scheduled In-Class Hours (enter hours from step 1 below – this example 3 units)

37.5



Scheduled Out-of-Class Hours (based on guidelines from step 2) – examples below


Course reading assignments: 400 pages @ 10 pages per hour

40

Writing assignment: 10-page paper @ 1 page per 3 hours

30

Mid-term Exam (student preparation time)

15

Final Exam (student preparation time)

15

(add additional items here – add additional rows as needed)




Total Student Work (MUST meet/exceed the minimum total hours from Table-1)

137.5

Guidelines for calculations – classes delivered in the typical lecture format:

STEP 1 – Determining In-Class Student Time Requirements:

When completing credit hour calculations, the in-class lecture time allotments are as follows:

Course Units

In-Class Minutes

In-Class Clock Hours to Use in Course Audits

(expressed in 60-minute hours)

1

750

12.50 clock hours

2

1500

25.00 clock hours

3

2250

37.50 clock hours

4

3000

50.00 clock hours

5

3750

62.50 clock hours









STEP 2 – Determining Out-of-Class Student Time Requirements:

Faculty employ a variety of valuable out-of-class activities to support the instruction students receive in their classes.

It would be impossible to catalog all types of activities that might be appropriate within the context of a particular course. However, in an effort to identify some common course-related activities, the following information serves as a suggested guideline (or starting point) for calculating the amount of time students spend on each activity.

Please be aware that individual adjustments may be substituted to appropriately reflect the nature of the academic discipline and the level of coursework within the curriculum (for example, a 10-page reading assignment for a senior-level Biology course is likely not the same workload as a 10-page reading assignment for Essentials of Biology).

Reading assignments: Reading should be calculated at the rate of 10 pages per hour. Certain reading may demand more time to absorb the content; thus, this guideline may require appropriate adjustment.

Research & Writing assignments: Research and writing should be calculated at the rate of 1 page of finished, typed product per 3 hours of student time. Research and writing for the purpose of a seminar presentation and/or defense will likely demand more time to produce; thus, this guideline may require appropriate adjustment.

Quizzes: Preparation for each quiz is calculated at 1–2 hours per 15 minutes of quiz administration/completion time.

Exams: Preparation for each exam is calculated at 5–15 hours per 1 hour of exam administration/completion time.

Homework problem sets: The amount of student time per problem will vary greatly depending on the class level and academic discipline. It is suggested that each faculty member establish an estimated time per problem and use it as the basic multiplying factor for determining the total time of each homework set.

Guidelines for calculations – classes offered in other formats:

For those classes NOT delivered in the typical lecture format:

Credits will be awarded on the basis of documented learning objectives, expected learning outcomes, and student workload expectations within a specified period of academically engaged time. An equivalent amount of work (as defined below) is required in courses and academic activities where direct instruction is not the primary mode of learning. These types of courses may include:

1. online and hybrid courses

2. laboratory work

3. independent study/arranged courses

4. internships

5. practicum

6. studio work

7. all other types of instructional modes, etc.

Workload: One unit of credit is granted for a minimum of 2,250 minutes of academic engagement or 37.50 clock hours. From a timing perspective, these minutes do not have to be distributed equally across a semester; the key factor is that total student engagement (whether in lab, studio, practicum, recital, etc.) meets/surpasses 2,250 minutes or 37.50 clock hours per unit. Please be detailed in outlining how the total minutes of student engagement are achieved in any non-lecture format class. If classroom or seat time exists within a particular class, incorporate that into your calculations.

In calculating the total amount of student work, faculty may refer to the out-of-class time requirement guidelines and

incorporate those elements into their calculations. For other types of student work where guidelines are not established, a rationale should be given in the Credit Hour Calculations table to explain how the total course calculations were derived.

Summary: Regardless of delivery mode or the type of student work being performed, faculty members MUST ensure the total time a student is engaged in every course meets or exceeds the minimum total work hours as expressed in Table-1 at the beginning of this document.