Credit Hour Policy (Credit Hour Definition)

As a postsecondary institution, Piedmont College is responsible for defining a credit hour and for ensuring that the credit hours awarded for courses and programs conform to commonly accepted practices in higher education. The College adheres to the federal definition of a credit hour as published by the United States Department of Education in the Federal Register (75FR66832) on October 29, 2010. The Department defines a credit hour as:

1. 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 academic activities as established by the institution, including laboratory work, internships, practica, studio work, and other academic work leading to the awarding of credit hours. (34 CFR 600.2)

For the purposes of this definition, an instructional hour equates to 50 minutes, the unit of measure used by the National Center for Education Statistics Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS).

Course Length

The institutional established equivalences to the federal definition of the credit hour at Piedmont College are listed below.

1. Direct instruction courses must include one 50 minute period with the instructor, which is 750 minutes for each credit hour awarded.

   Fifty (50) minutes x 15 weeks = 750 minutes

   The standard expectation for direct instruction classes is that students will spend a minimum of two hours outside the classroom for each hour spent in class.

2. For laboratory classes, the hours per week are considered to be all in class with no outside assignments. Thus, one unit is three hours per week of laboratory time, which is 2,250 minutes for each credit hour awarded.

   (50 minutes x 3) x 15 weeks = 2,250 minutes

   Unless otherwise specified by professional accreditation standards, the formula for awarding credit hours for internships, practica, clinicals, and studio work is the same as the formula for laboratory classes.

3. Combined lecture/laboratory courses should be designed in accordance with the guidelines outlined above, even if there is no discrete break between the lecture and laboratory components for the course.

   This credit hour policy applies to all courses at the undergraduate and graduate level that award academic credit (i.e., any course that appears on an official transcript issued by the College) regardless of the mode of delivery including, but not limited to, self-paced, online, and hybrid. Academic units are responsible for ensuring that credit hours are awarded only for work that meets the requirements outlined in this policy.

   Courses that are offered on a schedule other than the full 15-week semester are prorated so they contain the same number of hours as if the course were scheduled for a full semester. To maintain the integrity of the instructional program, care must be taken when scheduling short courses so that there is adequate time for student to complete homework assignments or laboratory work, internships, practical, clinicals, and studio work.

Program Length

For the purposes of this policy, Piedmont College has established the following standards for program length: