A credit hour is comprised of faculty-led discussion/lecture and student preparation outside of the classroom.

The academic calendar is planned around 15 weeks of instruction per semester.  A credit hour equals approximately 15 academic hours of faculty-led instruction per semester plus, on average and as a general guideline, an additional 30 hours of out-of-class student work.  One academic hour equals 50 minutes of class time.  Each credit requires a time commitment of approximately 3 hours per week.

Guidelines on Equivalents

• Faculty supervised laboratory sessions are roughly equivalent to ½ of a faculty-led session (e.g., 30 academic hours equal one credit hour)

• For independent study time spent is roughly equal to ⅓ of a faculty-led session (e.g., 45 academic hours equals one credit hour)

• For courses that use a mix of teaching methods, credit hours will be assigned based on the weighted value of these components.

Non-traditional/alternate formats

If a course is offered in alternate formats (such as on-line, compressed, correspondence, etc.) and carries the same name and course number, it shall carry the same credit value as the traditional classroom course and must ensure the same educational outcomes are achieved.

NOTE:  Until the fall 2012, AUA was on an quarter system, with 10-week terms, under which the typical credit hour was 500 minutes (ten 50 minute classes) of in-class instruction plus roughly 20 hours of student preparation out of class.  For the old policy and definition, please consult the Policy Archive.