A standard credit hour is the equivalent of at least 37.5 hours of documented, faculty-supervised learning activities over the course of a term (including final exams) designed to achieve specific learning outcomes. In shortened sessions such as module or summer school, the number of hours of learning activities required to earn a credit hour remains the same; they are simply distributed differently in the calendar.

A variety of activities can earn an hour of credit as course components or as stand-alone options such as internships or research courses. The following list provides examples, but is not to be considered exhaustive.

• in-class meeting

• out-of-class reading

• laboratory activities

• learning using appropriate technology

• research

• service learning/civic engagement activities

• internship activities

• international education/cultural enrichment activities

Instruction that is one-to-one, e.g. private music lessons, individual research courses, may deviate from this definition as circumstances demand. (11/2013)

Courses required for degree programs may carry zero (0) credits if they meet one or more of the following criteria:

• they require significantly less time than a 1 credit hour course, based on our definition of a credit hour (37.5 hours of learning activity across the semester);
• there is a credit-bearing option that students may elect to take;
• they exist to grant credit for TREK components (Career, Community, or Culture) for which the learning activities and coursework are reflected in the credit hours of another course taken concurrently with the 0-credit hour course;
• they exist to schedule a meeting time in which students from multiple courses are brought together for common learning experiences and most or all coursework is reflected in the credit hours of the other courses.

New zero credit courses must be approved by the Academic Policy Council using the same procedure as all other courses, but the applicant must justify the use of zero credits using one of the above options.