Academic Credit Hour

Reason for Policy 

This policy ensures that the number of credits awarded for completion of each Fort Lewis College course reflects the U.S. Department of Education, the Higher Learning Commission, and the Colorado Commission on Higher Education requirements for direct faculty instruction and out-of-class work, and is appropriate for the pursuit of identified learning outcomes.

In 34 CFR 600.2 the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) adopted new regulations related to awarding academic credit for Title IV institutions eligible for financial aid in 2010. The new regulations were engaged on January 1, 2012 and define a credit hour as follows:

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-of-class 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; or

(2)   at least an equivalent amount of work as required in paragraph (1) of this definition for other activities as established by an institution, including laboratory work, internships, practica, studio work, and other academic work leading toward the award of credit hours. ¹

As of 2012, these regulations are used by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) to comprehensively evaluate an institution's accreditation or reaffirmation of accreditation. Under Policy no. 3.10(a), the HLC will review an institution's assignment of credit hours in the following context:

The institution's assignment of credit hours shall conform to commonly accepted practices in higher education. Those institutions seeking, or participating in, Title IV federal financial aid, shall demonstrate that they have policy determining the credit hours awarded to courses and programs in keeping with commonly-accepted practices and with the federal definition of the credit hour, as reproduced herein for reference only, and that institutions also have procedures that result in an appropriate awarding of institutional credit in conformity with the policies established by the institution.²

In Colorado, institutions of higher education follow Colorado Commission on Higher Education (CCHE) contact hour requirements where one contact hour is defined as a minimum of 50 minutes of instructional activity involving direct contact of faculty with students. CDHE guidelines³ provide further direction for determining the specific credit hours to be awarded for student work in courses and programs using the base contact hour—defined as 750 minutes of section meeting time over the course of a semester—to establish the minimum number of weekly contact hours needed to receive one credit. For example, a three-credit-hour lecture course would need to meet the equivalent of three 50-minute blocks each week, for a total of 2,250 minutes per semester. 

Definitions 

Credit hour – Consistent with USDOE, HLC and CCHE, a credit hour represents the amount of work governed by intended and clearly identified student learning outcomes and verified by evidence of student achievement that approximates one hour (at least 50 minutes) of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of two hours (for undergraduate) or three hours (for graduate) of out-of-class student work each week for a fifteen-week term, or the equivalent amount of work over a term of a different length. Classroom or direct faculty instruction and out-of-class student work leading to the award of credit hours may vary for courses that require laboratory work, internships, practica, studio work, online work, research, guided study, study abroad, and other academic work to achieve the identified student learning outcomes. In addition, student workload may vary based upon program expectations established by national or regional accrediting bodies.

Accelerated course - Courses offered outside of a standard 15 week semester in which the credit hours offered are the same as standard semester courses.