Credit Hour Policy

Purpose 

McNeese State University uses the credit hour or its equivalency for academic scheduling and awarding of academic credit. This policy aligns with SACSCOC Principles of Accreditation Standard 10.7 (policies for awarding credit) as well as SACSCOC’s Credit Hours policy statement.

Credit Hour Guidelines 

Credit hours are assigned to courses by the program, department, and college from which they originate in accordance with the academic work and student learning outcomes required. The credit hour assignment for each course is reviewed by the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee or Graduate Council. The registrar reviews all curriculum changes and ensures adherence to this policy. The credit hour is defined in accordance with federal, University of Louisiana System, and Louisiana Board of Regents policies as follows:

• The amount of student time investment that reasonably approximates one hour* of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of two hours of out-of-class student work for 15 weeks for one semester verified by evidence of student achievement (considered traditional instructional delivery); or
• A reasonable amount of instruction and academic work occurs so that academic activities and student learning objectives for which credit is awarded is equivalent to traditional instructional delivery. 
• Courses offered in formats such as internships, practica, clinicals, studio, lab, independent study, condensed time frames, or other non-traditional format must have appropriate rigor, require an equivalent amount of student work as the traditional format, and have appropriate student learning outcomes evidenced by student achievement for each credit hour awarded. 
• Online courses must require the equivalent amount of student time that approximates one hour of course instruction and a minimum of two hours of independent student work for 15 weeks for one semester, have learning outcomes equivalent to comparable, traditionally delivered courses, and must include instruction that requires faculty-student interaction and student participation in academic activities for each credit hour awarded. 
• The University may approve courses that award zero (0) credit hours when such courses are part of formal degree requirements, including but not limited to program admissions, orientation, or exams. Such courses are subject to review and approval by the appropriate curriculum committee and documented through the University’s standard curriculum processes.

*In accordance with commonly accepted practices in higher education, McNeese operates on a 50-minute class period for one hour of face-to-face instruction.

Credit hours awarded for courses delivered in non-traditional formats (e.g., condensed sessions, independent study courses, and other flexible course presentations) are based on documentation, such as the course syllabus, which provides evidence of the amount of work a typical student is expected to complete to achieve the student learning outcomes.

Academic Calendar 

McNeese adheres to University of Louisiana System Board Rules Part Two, Chapter I, Section VII regarding minimum length for academic courses, which state that for one semester hour of credit, a traditional lecture or laboratory course shall strive to meet a minimum of 750 minutes. Final exam periods may be counted as class time when computing required minutes. In general, at least one week of reflection is required for each credit hour earned.

Prior to each academic year, the executive director of enrollment management and the registrar develop a proposed academic calendar and a proposed schedule summary. The proposed academic calendar includes start and end dates for each academic term—regular and condensed—as well as important dates for registration, course withdrawal, mid-term and final exams, and other academic-related deadlines. The proposed schedule summary for each academic term provides the number of class meetings per month for three-credit hour courses which meet one, two, or three times a week as well as the total number of meetings for each term to ensure credit hour requirements are met. The Executive Leadership Team is responsible for the review and approval of the academic calendar and schedule.

Communication 

This policy is distributed via the University Policies webpage.