Definition of a Credit Hour Procedure
Purpose
The purposes of this policy are to articulate Minnesota State Community and Technical College’s practice regarding assignment of student credit hours, demonstrate compliance with commonly accepted educational practices and ensure that the College awards educational credits in a manner consistent with federal regulations and the expectations of the Higher Learning Commission.
Definition
Credit Hour
A credit hour is defined as 50 minutes of instructional time per credit per week, or 750 minutes total for a typical 15-week semester.
Procedure
A credit hour is defined as 50 minutes of instructional time per credit. For example, a 3 credit lecture course would have 150 minutes of instructional time per week.
For laboratory classes, the MSCF contract Article 11, Section 1, Subd. 13 specifies that, “Science laboratory courses (chemistry, biology, physics, and natural science) shall be credited on the basis of one (1) credit for each one (1) lecture hour and one (1) credit for each two (2) laboratory hours. Credits for science laboratories shall be averaged over the academic year with totals in odd numbers being rounded to the nearest whole number. For purposes of rounding, .5 shall be rounded up to one (1).”
Therefore, laboratory courses will follow the 1:2 ratio and will be scheduled for a minimum of 100 minutes per week for a 1 credit laboratory course. Laboratories may be scheduled for 110 minutes to allow for a 10-minute break.
Other laboratory courses would include, but are not limited to, clinicals, health sciences laboratory classes, internships and job training labs and will follow the same ratio as indicated above.
Responsibility
Deans
Responsible for ensuring courses are scheduled properly, as indicated above, in consultation with the faculty. The dean ultimately has authority over the schedule.
Faculty
Responsible for providing timely input on scheduling matters in consultation with their supervising dean.
Associated Policies and Procedures
Definition of a Credit Hour Policy