Credit Hour Planning

National standards

The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Title 34, Section 600.2 defines a credit hour as “an amount of student work defined by an institution, as approved by the institution’s accrediting agency or State approval agency, that is consistent with commonly accepted practice in postsecondary education and that reasonably approximates not less than –
(i) 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 period of time; or
(ii) At least an equivalent amount of work as required in paragraph (1)(i) 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”

State standards

The Ohio Department of Higher Education defines one semester credit hour as “a minimum of 750 minutes of formalized instruction that typically requires students to work at out-of-class assignments an average of twice the amount of time as the amount of formalized instruction (1,500 minutes). It is acknowledged that formalized instruction may take place in a variety of modes. While awarding semester credit hours typically occurs for instruction delivered in accordance with an institution’s standard semester calendar, it may also occur for instruction that may not follow the typical pattern of an institution’s standard semester calendar as long as the criteria for awarding such credit is met.” (ohiohighered.org)

Institutional standards

The Athenaeum of Ohio’s credit hour policy aligns with federal and state standards, and ensures all credit hour criteria are met when assigning credit hours, developing curricula, and scheduling courses.

Full-term courses

Full-term courses (i.e. courses that meet for 15 weeks during the semester) may be scheduled as 1-, 2-, or 3-credit hour courses.

• One-credit hour courses are scheduled to meet once per week for 50 minutes, and a minimum of 100 minutes of outside study and preparation per week is expected.

• Two-credit hour courses are scheduled to meet either a) once per week for 100 minutes, or b) twice per week for 50 minutes each; and a minimum of 200 minutes of outside study and preparation per week is expected.

• Three-credit hour courses are scheduled to meet either a) once per week for 150 minutes*, b) twice per week for 75 minutes each, or c) three times per week for 50 minutes each; and a minimum of 300 minutes of outside study and preparation per week is expected.
*150 minute class sessions are scheduled for 160 minutes to include a 10-minute break during class

5-week term courses

Courses that meet five weeks during the semester may be scheduled as 1- or 2-credit hour courses.

• One-credit hour courses are scheduled to meet once per week for 150 minutes and a minimum of 300 minutes of outside study and preparation per week is expected.

• Two-credit hour courses are scheduled to meet twice per week for 150 minutes and a minimum of 600 minutes of outside study, research, and preparation per week is expected.

10-week term courses

Courses that meet ten weeks during the semester may be scheduled only as 2-credit hour courses.

• Two-credit hour courses are scheduled to meet once per week for 150 minutes and a minimum of 300 minutes of outside study and preparation per week is expected.

Credit hour calculations

Credit hour determination

Credit hours for courses are determined through a curricular review by the Senate Educational Affairs Committee, which includes the Dean of the Athenaeum, the Dean of the School of Theology, the Registrar, as well as representatives of the faculty. The proposed instructional schedule, student learning objectives, assessments, assignments, research, and other projects are all reviewed to determine the amount of academic engagement students will have, as defined in 34 CFR § 600.2. For each credit hour assigned, a minimum of 750 minutes of direct instruction must be planned, and a minimum of 1500 minutes of out-of-class student work must be evidenced through planned assignments in the course syllabus. The proposal is then presented to the Athenaeum Senate and Board of Trustees for review and approval.

Research courses

Some programs require research courses, in which a student works with a faculty advisor to prepare and write a thesis or major research paper. These courses include P 799 Capstone II, MA 697 Directed Research, MA 698 Thesis, and CS 698 Synthetic Research Paper. These 2-credit hour courses have their credit hours determined by expected interaction between the student and his/her advisor (direct instruction) and the expected time spent researching and writing the paper.

Research courses require a minimum of 750 minutes of substantive interaction between the student and instructor as defined in 34 CFR § 600.2, which includes “providing direct instruction; assessing or providing feedback on a student’s coursework; [and] providing information or responding to questions about the content of a course or competency” (4)(i-iii). Outside student work includes research, planning, organization, drafting, and revision of the paper. This work takes a minimum of 3750 minutes to complete over the course of a semester.

Due to the substantial increase in student work outside of instructional time, these courses do not follow the standard formula for awarding credit hours. However, the additional time spent in research and writing count towards the credit hours associated with these courses, as stipulated in 34 CFR § 600.2:

A credit hour “(1) reasonably approximates not less than (i) one hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of two hours of out-of-class student wok each week for approximately fifteen weeks for one semester or trimester of credit…or (ii) at least an equivalent amount of work as required in paragraph (1)(i) 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.”

Planning and scheduling

All faculty are responsible for ensuring their courses meet the minimum standards for credit hours. For each course credit hour, faculty must ensure a minimum of 50 minutes per week of direct instruction is provided. Synchronous and asynchronous courses must provide either an opportunity for direct interaction between the instructor and students, or must involve “academic engagement in which the student interacts with technology that can monitor and document the amount of time that the student participates in the activity” (34 CFR § 600.2).

Additionally, for each course credit hour, faculty must ensure a minimum of 100 minutes per week of out-of-class work is planned, assigned, and completed by students. Such work includes reading assignments, written assignments, research, group or individual projects, study for assessments, and other planned activities requiring active participation by the student in an instructional activity related to the course.

The Registrar schedules courses according to their credit hour determination to ensure the minimum direct instruction minutes are met. During the scheduling process, the deans are consulted to review and approve the course schedule, which is then sent to all faculty for approval. Any discrepancies with course credit hours and scheduling are resolved prior to course schedule publication.