Academic Credit Hour Policy

This credit hour definition is based on the traditional Carnegie unit and aligns with the Federal financial aid definition mandated by the United States Department of Education’s (USDE) regulations [34 CFR 600.02 and 668.8, effective July 1, 2020] and the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) standards and policies.

As the basic unit of measurement of educational accomplishment the credit hour is used to measure student progress toward a degree, which in turn enables PSU’s programs to be eligible for Title IV Financial Aid programs under the Higher Education Act.

These definitions rely on the ‘50-minute’ credit hour when considering in-class meeting times.  The PSU standard class scheduling time grid provides sufficient in-class time for both 3 and 4 credit classes.

PSU Definition:

The credit hour is conceptually framed as an amount of student work (i.e. a reasonable approximation of the total time commitment required of the typical student) associated with achieving intended learning outcomes. Under PSU’s quarter system, one academic credit is given for a minimum of 30 hours of student work over the term (i.e. a 1:30 ratio over the term). If the course meets regularly for 10 weeks, then 1 credit would require a minimum of 3 hours of student time per week for the 10 week term (i.e. a 1:3 ratio per week for 10 weeks).

• For a standard lecture/seminar class section with synchronous meetings, a minimum of 1 hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of 2 hours of out-of-class student work is required per week for a 10 week instructional term (1:3), or an equivalent amount of work distributed over a different time period (1:30).
• For other credit-bearing activities - such as labs, internships, practica, studio work, projects, mentor sessions - 1 credit requires at least an equivalent amount of student work spread out over the term  (i.e. 1:30 ratio).

Important Note: The policy sets the minimum level of student work/time required per credit, not an upper limit. The standards for the amount of student work per credit can vary greatly by academic unit. Each academic unit determines the structure of such courses and the credit hour ratio, based on variations in commonly accepted disciplinary and accreditation standards/practice within postsecondary education.

Student work includes time spent in:

• Direct Instruction, where the core/primary course content is delivered, typically by faculty during synchronous class meetings, but also includes guided learning through core material via asynchronous online delivery,
• Outside of Class study time, reading assignments, homework, papers, group work, exam preparation, etc., and
• Other Academic Activities which include credit and non-credit bearing course sections designed to review, discuss, practice or apply the course (and program) concepts delivered via direct instruction. Other Academic Activities include the following course types: laboratory, internships, practica, studio, projects, and other supplemental support sections like mentored inquiry.

Alternative Delivery Formats  - Hybrid, Online - No Scheduled Meetings, Partial Term

Classes that do not use synchronous meeting/contact times (for example, hybrid or asynchronous online courses) - or only meet for a partial term (i.e. for fewer than the standard 10 weeks) - will meet the credit hour standard if the course content and outcomes cover the same material in the same depth as a standard 10-week synchronous version of the same course, and the amount of student work is the same. Regardless of the length of the course or the amount of time spent in synchronous learning, the course learning outcomes, subject matter/content covered, and amount of student work must be equivalent to the amount of work/learning associated with the standard 10-week course.

Transferring Credit Hours

PSU is on the quarter-system calendar and all credit hours listed in the PSU Bulletin and schedule of classes refer to quarter credits. Semester credits transferred to PSU from other accredited United States schools may be converted to PSU’s credits by multiplying by 1.5 (e.g., 3 semester hours x 1.5 = 4.5 quarter credits). The 1.5 multiplication rule applies only to semester credits transferred from regionally accredited U.S. schools. Credits transferred from accredited schools outside the United States will be converted according to established international transfer credit guidelines and policies. PSU credits transferred out to a semester system institution may be converted by multiplying the number of quarter credits by .67 to determine the semester hour equivalent (e.g., 4 quarter credits x .67 = 2.68 semester credits).

NWCCU Considerations

In accordance with the NWCCU policy, PSU faculty will determine the amount of work associated with a credit hour, by considering learning outcomes and by accounting for a variety of delivery methods, measurements of student work, academic calendars, disciplines, degree levels, and commonly established standards/practices within postsecondary education.

PSU periodically reviews the application of its policy on credit hours across the institution to assure that credit hour assignments are accurate, fair, equitable and reliable across degree levels, academic disciplines, delivery modes, and types of academic activities.

Supplemental Guidance and Examples

Undergraduate and Graduate Level

There is no distinction in credit hour calculation between the graduate and undergraduate level. However, a course offered at both the undergraduate and graduate level (400/500 course) must include distinct requirements for undergraduate and graduate students. The syllabus must clearly specify how assessment of student work and the learning outcomes within the 500-level course provide a distinct graduate learning experience. The differences between graduate and undergraduate learning experiences should be clearly identifiable in both the stated learning outcomes and student evaluation sections of the syllabus. This distinction cannot simply be that graduate students will perform “more work” or “that the graduate students will be held to a higher standard.”

Importance of following the established standards:

It is important to meet the minimal guidelines/standards established by PSU and NWCCU, unless there is a compelling, solidly articulated, documented reason as to why/how variance is in line with commonly accepted practice within higher education. It is important to comply in order to avoid risk of:

• incorrectly inflating credit hours on courses where students are paying for instruction they are not getting,
• incorrectly under awarding credit, causing students to put in more time than necessary for the amount of credit they are getting,
• jeopardizing access to federal financial aid support,
• jeopardizing NWCCU and/or program accreditation, and
• inaccurately representing the amount of credit/learning to consumers of the transcript when students send transcripts to transfer institutions, graduate schools, employers and others.

Examples/Scenarios for calculating credit amounts based on required student work:

In the examples below, synchronous meetings times for lectures/seminars are expressed in terms of the 50-minute credit hour increments, while all other times are expressed in terms of hours.         

Lecture/Seminar Credit - Standard term, meeting regularly for 10 weeks

Example 1: A 1-credit lecture requires 30 hours

Example 2: A 3-credit lecture requires 90 hours of student work

Example 3: A 4-credit lecture requires 120 hours of student work

Lab/Mentored Inquiry/Workshop (0 credit) combined with Lecture - Standard term, meeting regularly for 10 weeks

If a lab, workshop, or mentored inquiry session carries individual credit, use the standard credit hour calculation for lab/studio courses below. This model is for courses that have lab/mentored inquiry meetings that bear no credit, and the activity hours are rolled up into the main course.

Example 1: A 5-credit combined lecture/lab pair requires 150 hours of student work

Example 2: A 5-credit combined lecture/mentored inquiry pair requires 150 hours of student work

Lab/Mentored Inquiry/Workshop (credit-bearing) - Standard term, meeting regularly for 10 weeks

Example 1: A 1-credit lab requires 30 hours of student work

Example 2: A 1-credit studio requires 30 hours of student work

Practicum/Internship (credit-bearing) - Standard term, meeting regularly for 10 weeks

Example 1: A 3-credit practicum requires 90 hours of student work

Example 2: A 3-credit internship requires 90 hours of student work

Important Note: This standard sets the minimum level of student work/time required per credit, not an upper limit. The standards for the amount of student work per credit can vary greatly by academic unit. Each academic unit determines the structure of such courses and the credit hour ratio, based on variation in commonly accepted disciplinary and accreditation standards/practice within postsecondary education.

Alternate course delivery methods, with reduced meetings, no scheduled meetings, or compressed term length

Five Week Compressed Term

Example 1: A 4-credit lecture requires 120 hours of student work

Example 2: A 3-credit practicum requires 90 hours of student work

One or Two Day Workshops, Field Trips

Example 1: A 1-credit class requires 30 hours of student work

Important Note: A field trip,1-day, or 2-day experience may not qualify for academic credit unless there are pre- and/or post-activities or assignments included to meet the required 1:30 credit to hour ratio.