Credit Hour
Summary & Overview
Summary:
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Course Planning:
Student Work Load:
Course Scheduling:
Academic Calendar:
Credit Count:
1 credit = 48 hours of student work (16 hours in class; 32 hours outside)
15 credits = 720 hours over 16 weeks = 9 hours per day (five-day week)
1 credit = minimum of 4.71 calendar days (i.e., 1 week per credit)
Start/Stop must comply with the institution’s academic calendar
Consistent and transparent credit counts required to complete each major
Overview:
1. National Context:
a. Source: U.S. Department of Education (HEA (amended), HEOA, and Program Integrity Regulations)
b. Enforcement: Higher Learning Commission (Federal Compliance Filing)
c. Expectation: Accredited institutions must formulate and adhere to a credit hour definition, and create
appropriate policies and processes related to the award of academic credit, that is consistent with
commonly accepted standards within higher education.
2. UW System:
a. ACPS-4: follows the “Carnegie Credit” model and states that one (1) credit hour represents an investment of
time by the average student of not fewer than 48 hours of course work. For traditional courses,
approximately 1/3 of this time (16 hours) is devoted to face-to-face instruction, and 2/3 of this time (32
hours) is expected from the student in out-of-class work.
i.
Flexibility: As outlined in the “Dear Colleague” letter from the U.S. Department of Education (dated
March 18, 2011), institutions are allowed flexibility in determining specific definitions and policies.
ii.
Federal Regulatory Language: In 34 CFR 600.2 of the federal regulations (included with the “Dear
Colleague” letter mentioned above), this 1/3 (in-class) and 2/3 (out-of-class) ratio is explicitly
discussed and endorsed as reasonable practice. Likewise, this regulatory language also recognizes
institutionally-defined flexibility for instruction that takes place in laboratories, internships, studios,
and other modes of delivery.
b. UWSP Catalog: When computing student course load (effort), each “semester hour” (i.e., one (1) credit
hour) represents 50 minutes of in-class work (or its equivalent for other forms of instruction) each week for
one semester (16 weeks, including finals week).
o This amount of time (50 minutes per week for 16 weeks) aligns with the 16 hours stated in the
ACPS-4 definition. Thus, for a student to earn one (1) credit hour in a semester, the student must
complete an additional 32 hours of work outside of class to comply with the 48 hour definition
found within ACPS-4 and the Carnegie unit.
3. Working Assumptions:
a. Student Credit Load (Effort):
i. A typical 1.0 credit course = 48 hours of time (approx.. 1/3 in-class, 2/3 out-of-class)
ii. A typical credit load for students = 15 credits per semester (to complete 120 credits in four years)
iii. A typical 15 credit load = 720 hours devoted over the span of one semester (16 weeks)
iv. Completing 720 hours over five (5) days per week = 9 hours per day devoted to courses
v. Maximum student load/effort: students are allowed to take up to 17 credits per semester without
special permission (which represents 10.2 hours per day).
 Thus, we will use 10.2 hours per day as the maximum student effort, which then allows us to
calculate the minimum calendar days for courses (below).
4. Scheduling Policies:
a. Course Scheduling: Minimum Calendar Days Required
i. Based on maximum sustained student credit load (effort) and the 10.2 hour per day formulation, the
minimum number of calendar days required for course scheduling is:
o 1.0 credit =
48 hours =
4.71 days
(approx. 1 week)
o 2.0 credits =
96 hours =
9.42 days
(approx. 2 weeks)
o 3.0 credits =
144 hours =
14.12 days
(approx. 3 weeks)
o 4.0 credits =
192 hours =
18.82 days
(approx. 4 weeks)
o 5.0 credits =
240 hours =
22.22 days
(approx. 5 weeks)
ii. This complies with standard practice across the nation.
iii. So, when creating individual courses and establishing a course schedule (timetable), we must
comply with these minimum calendar days (unless special circumstances apply).
 Departure from this course scheduling practice (based on national standards and our
institutionally-defined Credit Hour) could jeopardize our institution’s accreditation.
5. Academic Calendar:
a. Each year, an official Academic Calendar is established in compliance with ACPS-4 and in conjunction with
the Chancellor, the Office of Academic Affairs, and the Academic Affairs Committee.
Academic Calendar Guidelines:
i. Contracting / Employment: the academic year (for 9-month contracts) must include 39 contiguous
weeks (273 days total); these days include federal and state holidays; summer session begins after
the 9-month contract period ends.
ii. Term Start / Stop: we cannot start fall semester until September 2; a single week must contain at
least 2 meeting days; final exams should not end later than December 22; spring break is usually
scheduled after the 8th week in spring semester.
iii. Instructional Time: our guidelines state that the academic calendar must provide for approximately
2400 in-class instructional minutes (2400/50 = 48) for a typical 3-credit class, which includes a five
(5) day final exam week for each semester (this is part of the flexibility afforded to institutions).
iv. Meeting Format: the number of days (instructional minutes) in the two-day and three-day class
patterns (e.g., Tues/Thurs or Mon/Wed/Fri) should be reasonably balanced.
v. Winterim: must be at least 12 instructional days; use of one or two Saturdays may be required.
vi. Summer: typically includes a 3-week “interim” session followed by an 8-week summer session
(divided into two 4-week sessions).
b. The U.S. Department of Education and the Higher Learning Commission expects us to comply with this
institutionally-defined Academic Calendar.
i. Federal Financial Aid is awarded to students based on this Academic Calendar.
 Departure from this institutionally-defined Academic Calendar could severely disadvantage
students (i.e., they may not eligible to receive financial aid), and/or jeopardize our
institution’s eligibility to award financial aid to any student.
ii. Credit Hour equivalencies are evaluated based on this Academic Calendar and will be the basis of
our mandatory Federal Compliance Filing with the Higher Learning Commission.
 Departure from this institutionally-defined Academic Calendar could jeopardize our
institution’s accreditation.
6. Counting Credits:
a.
b.
c.
d.
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f.
Identify specific and consistent policies/practices for counting credits (consistent with federal regulations)
Credit “ranges” can be problematic (especially for a new student information system)
Explicit / transparent credit counts for all majors (required for July 1, 2014 compliance filing)
Will assist in academic advising (4-year plans / programs of study)
Aiming at 120 credits for all majors (most applicable for high-credit majors)
All majors encouraged to examine how student learning outcomes are packaged and delivered
Last updated: January 15, 2014