POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
SUBJECT:
Credit Hour Definition
REVIEWED/REVISED:
1/2016
PURPOSE:
To equate Nebraska Methodist College’s learning experiences with
semester credit hours following federal regulations and practices common
to higher education.
Rationale:
The Department of Education requires that all institutions comply with the definition of the credit hour as
provided in section 34 CFR 600.2 (11/1/2010), which defines the credit hour as:
A credit hour is an amount of work represented in intended learning outcomes and verified by evidence of
student achievement that is an institutionally established equivalency that reasonably approximates not less
than:
(1)
One hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of two hours of out-ofclass student work each week for approximately fifteen weeks for one semester or trimester
hour of credit, or ten to twelve weeks for one quarter hour of credit, or the equivalent amount
of work over a different amount of time;
(2)
At least an equivalent amount of work as required in paragraph (1) of this definition for other
academic activities as established by the institution, including laboratory work, internships,
practica, studio work, and other academic work leading to the award of credit hours.
Compliance Statement:
To comply with 34 CFR 600.2 definition of credit hour, the College, with the foundation of the “Carnegie Unit”,
calculates credit hour as demonstrated in Table 1 below. While the length of a course may vary, the Carnegie
definition is used to calculate the equivalency. Thus, a unit of credit equates to a minimum of three hours of
student work per week (1 hour lecture plus 2 hours of homework) for 15 weeks. In certain circumstances, it
is possible to have more hours, but not less. A unit of credit equates to 3 hours of lab. Clinical hours are
based on programmatic accreditation standards.
Page 1 of 3
Table 1
Course
Type
Unit Value Lecture Hours
(Cr. Hr.)
per Week
Student Homework
Hours per Week
Totals for Course Design
(Lecture & Homework)
Lecture
1
1 hour in class
2 hours homework
3 hours
minimum/week
45 hours
Lecture
2
2 hours in class
4 hours homework
6 hours
minimum/week
90 hours
Lecture
3
3 hours in class
6 hours homework
9 hours
minimum/week
135 hours
Alternative Format Courses:
Lecture Courses:
Alternative format lecture courses are prorated so they contain the same number of hours as if the course
were scheduled for a full 15 weeks. Table 2 below provides examples of calculated credit hours for alternative
format lecture courses in accordance with the compliance statement above irrespective of whether a course
is delivered on-ground, hybrid, or online.
Laboratory Courses:
For a laboratory courses, one unit value is equal to 4.5 contact hours minimum per laboratory course.
However, contact in labs may vary where pre-lab and assigned projects/experiments happen outside of the
scheduled lab time. Table 3 below provides examples of calculated credit hours for laboratory courses.
Clinical or Fieldwork Experiences:
Clinical or fieldwork hours are based on programmatic accreditation standards.
Table 2
NMC
Course
Type
Unit
Value
(Cr.
Hr.)
Carnegie
Totals
(Min.
Contact
Hrs. per
Course)
15 Week
Course
(Min.
Contact
Hrs. per
Week)
12 Week
Course
(Min.
Contact
Hrs. Per
Week)
10 Week
Course
(Min.
Contact
Hrs. per
Week)
8 Week
Course
(Min.
Contact
Hrs. per
Week)
7.5 Week
Course
(Min.
Contact
Hrs. per
Week)
5 Week
Course
(Min.
Contact
Hrs. per
Week)
4 Week
Course
(Min.
Contact
Hrs. per
Week)
Lecture
1
45
3
3.75
4.5
5.6
6.0
9
11.25
Lecture
2
90
6
7.5
9
11.3
12.0
18
22.5
Lecture
3
135
9
11.25
13.5
16.9
18.0
27
33.75
Page 2 of 3
Table 3
NMC
Course
Type
Unit
Value
(Cr.
Hr.)
Carnegie
Totals
(Min.
Contact
Hrs. per
Course)
15 Week
Course
(Min.
Contact
Hrs. per
Week)
12 Week
Course
(Min.
Contact
Hrs. Per
Week)
10 Week
Course
(Min.
Contact
Hrs. per
Week)
8 Week
Course
(Min.
Contact
Hrs. per
Week)
7.5 Week
Course
(Min.
Contact
Hrs. per
week)
5 Week
Course
(Min.
Contact
Hrs. per
week)
Lab
1
67.5
4.5
5.625
6.75
8.44
9
13.5
Lab
2
135
9
11.25
13.5
16.9
18.0
27
Lab
3
202.5
13.5
16.88
20.25
25.31
27
40.5
Page 3 of 3