New Policies – Course Credit Hour Definition and Seminar Courses

Below are the highlights for two new Academic Governing Council policies – please take a moment to review them (links to the full policies are provided below):

Course Credit Hour Definition: Policy defines a credit hour and gives value to the amount of work represented in learning outcomes and is verified by evidence of student achievement of those outcomes.  (Full Policy Available Here).

• A credit hour requires a minimum of one hour of direct faculty instruction and two hours of out-of-class student work each week for the equivalent of fourteen weeks.
• Clinicals require a minimum of 1.75 hours of student participation each week for the equivalent of fourteen weeks for each credit hour.
• Laboratories, Music Ensembles, Studios, Practica, Internships, and Fieldwork require a minimum of 2 hours of student participation each week for the equivalent of fourteen weeks for each credit hour.
• Co-ops require a minimum of 5 hours of student participation each week for the equivalent of fourteen weeks for each credit hour.
• Lecture/Labs are a way to implement an instructional strategy particular to a discipline. The department/program defines the credit hour/contact hour ratio according to the type of work required of students to meet the outcomes of those courses.

Seminar Courses: Policy is intended ensure the quality of the College curricula and the means to offer courses in special topics.  (Full Policy Available Here).

• Curriculum: A seminar course focuses on a topic that is not included and/or studied in depth in the discipline’s regular course offerings.
• Student: Students may not use more than twelve (12) credits of a combination of Seminar and Independent Study courses toward the fulfillment of the requirements for any associate’s degree.