Policy Author:
EPC
Responsible Office – Department:
Registrar
Effective Date of Policy:
Fall 2021
Purpose:
Establish a guideline for assignment of credit hours
Scope and Applicability:
Students and Faculty
Policy Narrative:
All courses taken for credit at Daemen University that apply toward completion of degree and certificate completion requirements conform to applicable state and federal regulations concerning the assignment of credit hours. The following provides information concerning credit hour assignment policies.
Credit Hour Definition
New York State:
All credit-bearing degree and certificate programs at Daemen University are approved by the New York State Education Department (NYSED). Calculation of credit hours for these programs follows NYSED guidelines, which are consistent with the US Department of Education’s definition of a credit hour.
Per Codes, Rules and Regulations of the State of New York, Title 8 – Education Department, Chap. II – Regulations of the commissioner, Subchapter A – Higher and Professional Regulations, Part 50- General: (pertinent excerpts)
Section 50.1 (o) stipulates the following:
“Semester hour means a credit, point or other unit granted for the satisfactory completion of a course which requires at least 15 hours (of 50 minutes each) of instruction and at least 30 hours of supplementary assignments, except as otherwise provide pursuant to Section 52,2 (c )(4) of the subchapter. This basic measure shall be adjusted proportionately to translate the value of other academic calendars and formats of study in relation to the credit granted for study during the two semesters that comprise an academic year.”
Section 52.2 (c )(4) stipulates: “A semester hour of credit may be granted by an institution for fewer hours of instruction and study than those specified in subdivision (o) of section 50.1 of this Subchapter only:(i) when approved by the commissioner as part of a registered curriculum; (ii) when the commissioner has granted prior approval for the institution to maintain a statement of academic standards that defines the considerations which establish equivalency of instruction and study and such statement has been adopted by the institution; or (iii) in the event of a temporary closure of an institution by the State or local government as a result of a disaster, as defined in section 50.1(w) of this Title, when the commissioner has granted approval for the institution to maintain a statement of academic standards that defines the considerations which establish equivalency of instruction and study and such statement has been adopted by the institution.”
U.S. Department of Education
Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, Title 34: Education, Part 600 – Institutional Eligibility under the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, Subpart A – General, Section 600.2 stipulates the following:
“Credit hour: Except as provided in 34 CFR 668.8 (k) and (l), a credit hour is 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 minimum of two hours of out of class student work each week for approximately fifteen weeks for on semester or trimester hour of credit, or ten to twelve weeks for one quarter hours 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 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.”
U.S. Department of Education guidance on Program integrity regulations related to the credit hour http://www2.ed.gov/policy/highered/reg/hearulemaking/2009/credit.html also stipulate:
“The credit-hour definition does not dictate particular amounts of classroom time versus out-of class student work. Further note that the definition provides that a credit hour may be for an equivalent amount of work over a different amount of time. There is no requirement that a 3- semester hour course meet 3 hours per week during a semester or a 3-quarter-hour course meet 3 hours per week during a quarter. The requirement is that the institution determine that there is an amount of student work for a credit hour that reasonably approximates not less than one hour of class and two hours of out-of-class student work per week over a semester for a semester hour ora quarter for a quarter hour. For example, an institution with a semester-based calendar has a graduate seminar for which it awards 3 semester hours. The class meets only one hour per week over a 15-week semester with the students expected to perform a substantial amount of outside research that is the equivalent of 8 or more hours of student work each week of the semester. For purposes of the Federal definition, the institution would be able to award up to 3 semester hours for the course.”
Credit Hour Assignment Policies
All semester credit hours awarded by Daemen will conform to the definitions listed above. Therefore all units of credit awarded will conform to the federal and state definitions.
Daemen University generally follows a semester system with fall and spring semesters consisting of a minimum of 15 weeks, which includes one week for exams. Summer terms are typically less than 15 weeks but adhere to the policy in terms of meeting time and the amount of work required. Terms for certain academic programs (for example, compressed schedules) have been adjusted but nonetheless adhere to the policy in terms of the amount of work required.
The faculty and department chairs are responsible for developing, maintaining and evaluating the curriculum within an academic program. Initial assignment of credit hours for courses is based on faculty expertise and course learning objectives. Existing courses are examined for adherence to the US Department of Education and NYSED credit hour regulations. New courses are, upon review and approval at the program level, reviewed by the Educational Policy Committee (EPC) and recommended for approval or denial.
EPC is charged with sharing and following the guidelines on credit hours in their review and approval of all courses and curricula. As well as certifying that the expected student learning for the course meets the credit hour standard.
Approved courses are shared with the Registrar’s Office for inclusion in the Daemen University Catalog and appropriate semester schedules. The Registrar’s Office reviews the class schedule prior to the start of each semester to ensure that all classes are scheduled for the minimum number of minutes corresponding to the credits assigned. Any discrepancies are brought to the attention of the appropriate department for correction or explanation.
The following information provides general guidance on how the credit hour translates to the particular instructional method. Note, however, that the credit hour definition does not dictate particular amount of classroom time versus out of class student work. The information below serves as general guidance only.
Lecture and Seminar: Course with multiple students which meet to engage in veracious forms of group instruction under the direct supervision of a faculty member.
Lectures and Seminars: Classroom/Faculty Instruction and Outside Student Work
| Credits Awarded | Minimum Contact per Week | Minimum Instructional Time(Contact time x 15 Weeks) | Minimum Out of Class Student Work per Week | MinimumOut of Class Student Work(Outside Work X 15 Weeks) | Total of instructional contact time and out of class student work |
| 1 | 50 contact minutes | 750 contact minutes | 100 minutes | 1500 minutes | 2250 minutes(37.5 hours) |
| 2 | 100 | 1500 | 200 | 3000 | 4500(75.0 hours) |
| 3 | 150 | 2250 | 300 | 4500 | 6750(112.5 hours) |
| 4 | 200 | 3000 | 400 | 6000 | 9000(150 hours) |
| 5 | 250 | 3750 | 500 | 7500 | 11250(225 hours) |
Laboratory: Courses with a focus on experiential learning under the direct supervision of a faculty member wherein the student performs substantive work in a laboratory setting. The minimum contact time per credit is typically twice that of a lecture (2:1 ratio). There are some cases where Lecture and Lab courses are tied together in a 4 + 0 credit hour set. The actual breakdown for classroom time and outside work is lecture is 3 credits and the laboratory is 1 credit of class time.
Laboratory: Classroom/Faculty Instruction and Outside Student Work
| Credits Awarded | Minimum Contact per Week | Minimum Instructional Time(Contact time x 15 Weeks) | Minimum Out of Class Student Work per Week | MinimumOut of Class Student Work(Outside Work X 15 Weeks) | Total of instructional contact time and out of class student work |
| 1 | 100 contact minutes | 1500 contact minutes | 50 minutes | 750 minutes | 2250 minutes(37.5 hours) |
| 2 | 200 | 3000 | 100 | 1500 | 4500(75.0 hours) |
| 3 | 300 | 4500 | 150 | 2250 | 6750(112.5 hours) |
| 4 | 400 | 6000 | 200 | 3000 | 9000(150 hours) |
| 5 | 500 | 7500 | 250 | 3750 | 11250(225 hours) |
Clinicals: Courses with a focus on experiential learning under the direct supervision of a faculty member wherein the student performs substantive work in a clinical setting. The minimum contact time per credit is typically three times that of a lecture (3:1 ratio), depending upon the amount of outside work assigned.
Clinicals: Classroom/Faculty Instruction and Outside Student Work
| Credits Awarded | Minimum Contact per Week | Minimum Instructional Time(Contact time x 15 Weeks) | Minimum Out of Class Student Work per Week | MinimumOut of Class Student Work(Outside Work X 15 Weeks) | Total of instructional contact time and out of class student work |
| 1 | 150 contact minutes | 2250 contact minutes | 0 minutes | 0 minutes | 2250 minutes(37.5 hours) |
| 2 | 300 | 4500 | 0 | 0 | 4500(75.0 hours) |
| 3 | 450 | 6750 | 0 | 0 | 6750(112.5 hours) |
| 4 | 600 | 9000 | 0 | 0 | 9000(150 hours) |
| 5 | 750 | 11250 | 0 | 0 | 11250(225 hours) |
Independent Study: Courses of study in which a faculty member regularly interacts and directs student outcomes with periodic contact. These courses can also be created in instances where enrollment has fallen below established standards but under conditions where a student or students require that course be offered in order to progress academically (such as the need for a particular course in order to graduate). In either case the minimum credit hours are determined based on faculty instructional contact minutes and student outside work time. In all such instances, such courses must match the total amount of work using the examples listed above.
Internship/Practica/Field Experience/Service Learning: Courses of study in which a faculty member regularly interacts and directs student outcomes with periodic contact, but where the actual learning environment takes place off-campus at an approved site. The learning experience will typically involve a site supervisor or preceptor and directed activity/learning will occur outside of a lecture setting. Contact time and outside student work requirements must be established and documented, and must match the total amount of work using the example above.
Online Courses: Courses offered entirely online without any on-site face-to-face meetings. These courses have the same learning outcomes and substantive components of a standard lecture/seminar course with an alternative delivery method. Contact time is satisfied by several means which can include but is not limited to, the following: a.) regular instruction or interaction with a faculty member once a week for each week the course runs. b.) Academic engagement through interactive tutorials, group discussions moderated by faculty, virtual study/project groups, engaging with class peers and computer tutorials graded and reviewed by faculty. In all such instances, these courses must meet the total amount of instructional and student work time as the examples above, even if delivered online or asynchronously.
Instructional time can be estimated using the faculty’s educated calculation of how much time would be sufficient to achieve satisfactory progress toward learning outcomes on the following activities:
- Reading, viewing or listening to course presentations
- Reading other course materials
- Participation in course interactions (discussions via text, audio, or video)
- Conducting research as part of the class
- Completing class assignments, projects or other assessment activities
This can be accomplished by a faculty member breaking down course activities ahead of the start of the course and providing details regarding specific items and estimated completion time. Throughout the course students can be surveyed to assure the estimates are accurate or corrections can be made for the remainder of the course as well as the next time it’s offered.
Hybrid Courses: Courses offered in a blended format with 1 or more on site face-to-face class sessions and at least one or more online sessions, both containing direct interaction with a faculty member. Contact time is assessed using both on–site definitions (for the on-site portion) and online definitions as above (for the online portion). In all such instances, these courses must meet total amount of instructional and student work time as the examples above, even if delivered online or asynchronously.
Procedures:
The faculty and department chairs are responsible for developing, maintaining and evaluating the curriculum within an academic program. Initial assignment of credit hours for courses is based on faculty expertise and course learning objectives. Existing courses are examined for adherence to the US Department of Education and NYSED credit hour regulations. New courses are, upon review and approval at the program level, reviewed by the Educational Policy Committee (EPC) and recommended for approval or denial.
EPC is charged with sharing and following the guidelines on credit hours in their review and approval of all courses and curricula. As well as certifying that the expected student learning for the course meets the credit hour standard.
Approved courses are shared with the Registrar’s Office for inclusion in the Daemen University Catalog and appropriate semester schedules. The Registrar’s Office reviews the class schedule prior to the start of each semester to ensure that all classes are scheduled for the minimum number of minutes corresponding to the credits assigned. Any discrepancies are brought to the attention of the appropriate department for correction or explanation.