Semester Credit Definition Policy: Guidelines for Assigning Credit Hours to Courses

Policy Number: 3349-AC-240
Effective Date: 05/31/2017
Updated: 06/03/2024
Reviewed: —
Responsible Department: Academic Affairs: Office of the Registrar
Approval Authority: Provost

A. Purpose

The Semester Credit Definition Policy is designed to establish guidelines for assigning credit hours to courses. All NEOMED student transcripts record courses in credit hours.

B. Scope

This policy provides a glossary of terms to be used by all courses provided by NEOMED and administered through the Office of the Registrar.  Faculty and/or Curriculum Committees interested in proposing new courses or modifications to existing courses should consult this policy and/or the Office of the Registrar for confirmation of appropriate credit values.

C. Definitions

1. “Contact Hour” refers to fifty (50) minutes of formalized, scheduled instruction presented to students, calculated into Semester Credit.
2. “Curriculum Committee” refers to the committee within each College that is responsible for review and decision-making regarding the curricula of that College, including the Graduate Faculty Council for the College of Graduate Studies.
3. “Distance Education” refers to education that uses one or more of the technologies stated in this policy to deliver instruction to students who are separated from the instructor(s) and to support regular and substantive interaction between the students and the instructor(s), either synchronously or asynchronously.
   1. “Distance Education Course” refers to a course in which at least 75% of the instruction and interaction occurs using one or more of the technologies listed in the definition of Distance Education, with the faculty and students physically separated from each other.
4. “Instructional Methods” refers to specific delivery methods of instruction used to deliver a section of a course. The methods include the following:
   1. Online – all of the course is offered online in its entirety
   2. Blended – a mix of online and in person
   3. In Person – all of the course is offered in person in its entirety
5. “Schedule Type” refers to the category a course is coded for in the Student Information System which is set up according to the way the course was approved for inclusion in the academic catalog (The Compass) and exists for the purposes of identifying and reporting information about academic scheduling. Schedule Types include:
   1. “Capstone” refers to a project-based course where a multifaceted body of work serves as a culminating academic experience.
   2. “Clinical Experience” refers to various experiences in clinical hospital, pharmacy, or community health office settings where students are usually off-site, supervised by faculty-clinicians, pharmacy preceptors, medical residents, doctors, pharmacists, and or dentists in a variety of settings to gain firsthand training experience. (Examples: Required and Elective Rotations in M4 Electives in P1-P3, Clerkships in M3, Required D3-D4; Required P4 APPE’s; MMSc-A Y2; Y3).
   3. “Combined Lecture/Lab” refers to a combined Lecture and laboratory that integrates both activities into one course with one grade.
   4. “Engaged Learning” refers to students exploring, applying, and engaging with content at least 60% of the time (hands on (laboratory), discussing cases within student groups (Case-based Learning), answering/discussing questions, teaching others (Peer Instruction), engaging with teams to answer questions/cases/activities (Team-based Learning).
      1. “Flipped Classroom” refers to a method that uses a pedagogical strategy in which the typical Lecture and homework elements of a course are reversed. In a typical traditional classroom, students listen to Lectures in class and complete most of their homework after class. In a Flipped Classroom, students listen or watch pre- recorded lectures before class and perform active learning activities such as exercises, projects, or discussions during class.
         1. “Peer Instruction” refers to a type of Flipped Classroom that uses interactive problem-solving learning sessions where concepts are tested and discussed, building upon required preparation time material, resulting in understanding and better application of concepts learned.
         2. “Engaged Laboratory” refers to a type of Flipped Classroom in which students complete assigned learning activities prior to class and then during class are expected to actively apply knowledge and skills to demonstrate higher levels of learning in a laboratory setting.
      2. “Case-based Learning” refers to the use of patient cases (actual or theoretical) to stimulate discussion, questioning, problem solving, and reasoning on issues pertaining to the basic sciences and clinical disciplines.
      3. “Team-based Learning” refers to a form of collaborative learning that follow a specific sequence of individual work, group work, and immediate feedback; engages students in learning activities within a small group that works independently in classes with high learner-faculty ratios.
   5. “Independent Study” refers to a method in which a student requests or the Committee on Academic and Professional Progress (CAPP) recommends a course used for students on or off-track to complete course content.
   6. “International Experience” refers to a NEOMED faculty-led International Experience that integrates traditional classroom learning with experiential activities and site visits outside the United States. International Experience courses may have pre- and post-travel classroom study. Course activities include, but are not limited to, classroom study, Research, and fieldwork. The course is created specifically for the study abroad experience; course content is not offered domestically and does not already have its own course number. International Experience variable offerings should be approved by the college subcommittee and reviewed by the Graduate Faculty Council before being scheduled.
   7. “Internship” refers to a method in which a student has full-time, semester-long work experiences that are integrated with academic instruction and relate to an individual student’s occupational goals. Students concurrently apply learned concepts to practical situations within an occupational field.
   8. “Laboratory/Simulation” refers to a method in which a student directly participates in conducting observations and experiments, perfecting skills or practicing procedures under the direction of a faculty member (includes “Preclinical Simulations”).
   9. “Lecture” refers to a method of direct, formalized instruction of a student by the faculty member, conducted on or off-campus, in which the instructor presents an educational experience to students, applying any combination of Instructional Methods. This definition is applicable only when the course organization requires the Faculty of Record to bear the primary responsibility for the instructional activity and is directly involved with all the students in the class. Students will be expected to work on out-of-class self-directed study on a regular basis over the length of the course, which will normally average two hours of out-of-class self-directed study for each hour of formal class activity. This out-of-class self-directed study shall not be counted as part of the Lecture hours for semester credit.
   10. “Practicum” refers to a method in which a student has part-time field assignments that allow students to observe and document how working professionals perform their job duties. Learning goals are narrow but still integrated with an individual student’s occupational goals.
   11. “Research” refers to a method in which a student initiates experiences to pursue an area of interest not otherwise covered by a regular course offering, with the guidance of a faculty member.
   12. “Seminar” refers to a method in which students participate in a workshop-style course.
   13. “Small Group Discussion” refers to a method in which cohorts are divided into groups smaller than the Lecture or laboratory sessions for formalized discussion, either on- or off-campus.
6. Other Course Categories Coded in Banner
   1. “Co-Scheduled” refers to a category for a course where two or more independent courses have limited shared content and elect to meet together to capitalize on the delivery of common content only. Co-Scheduled courses are distinguished from Cross-Listed and Dual-Listed courses by the fact that only some portion of the academic experience is common between the classes, and credit hours and course identifiers do not have to be aligned.
   2. “Course Equivalent” refers to a category for courses designated as Cross-Listed or Dual-Listed and are considered equivalent and programmed as such in Ellucian’s Banner Student Information System (“Banner”) Courses that undergo revisions to titles, course number and/or subject codes, but retain the same content, are also coded in Banner as equivalent. Equivalencies have implications to repeat grade rules and use of credit towards fulfillment of graduation requirements.
   3. “Cross-Listed” refers to a category for a single course that is offered jointly by two or more colleges/departments to students at the same level and is identical in every aspect other than the course identifier.
   4. “Dual-Listed” refers to a category for a course offered at the professional student level and graduate student level; course content and credit value is identical with variations in expectations regarding course rigor, competencies, and or assessment measures that are applied to different student levels.
   5. “Interprofessional/Interdisciplinary” refers to a category for Clinical Experiences or courses designed for students from two or more health professions that include content and objectives that promote students learning with, from and about each other, within the occupational context, to improve collaboration, practice and the quality of health care from a health professions team perspective.
7. “Preparation/Independent Learning Time” refers to fifty (50) minutes time of out-of-class or non-scheduled dedicated preparation time the typical student is expected to complete prior to Engaged Learning sessions, but not calculated into Semester Credit in each course.
   1. “Independent Learning Activities” refer to an instructional method used by faculty to create learning modules that are designed to be completed asynchronously and independently during a course of study.
8. “Self-Directed Study Time” refers to when students take initiative for their own learning. This time is not calculated into Semester Credit hours in each course.
9. “Semester Credit” refers to credit which is awarded for a minimum of 750 minutes of formalized instruction or Peer Instruction time. A Semester Credit typically requires students to engage an average of twice the amount of Preparation/Independent Learning time as the amount of formalized instruction (i.e., 1,500 minutes). Typically, a three (3)-Semester Credit hour course meets for three (3) Contact Hours (three (3) 50-minute sessions or two 75-minute sessions) per week for 15 to 16 weeks of a semester.  In total, the three (3)-Semester Credit hour course meets for 45 to 48 Contact Hours.
10. “Student Information System” (“SIS”) refers to a comprehensive software system that processes and stores courses, the schedule of courses, student registration and student grades earned. NEOMED’s SIS is Banner.

D. Policy Statement

1. NEOMED awards Semester Credit based on an amount of work represented in intended learning outcomes and verified by evidence of student achievement.
2. NEOMED operates on a sixteen (16)-week semester calendar, inclusive of examinations and assessments, however, examinations and assessments are not calculated in credit hour calculations for courses. Dedicated Preparation/Independent Learning and Self-Directed Study Time is also not calculated in credit hour calculations for courses.
3. Credit hours are calculated as follows:
   1. Engaged Learning, Combined Lecture/Laboratory, Lecture, Laboratory, Seminar, Small Group Discussion, Independent Study, and Research courses
      1. One (1) Semester Credit is awarded for each fifteen (15) Contact Hours of formalized instruction and anticipates an additional thirty (30) hours of Preparation/Independent Learning Time or Self-Directed Study Time.
   2. International Experience, Internship and Practicum
      1. Involves an experience coordinated by NEOMED faculty, who assists the student in planning the experience and assigns the course grade in consultation with the supervisor/employer.
         1. One (1) Semester Credit is awarded for each week (five (5) days) or 40 to 45 hours of on-task activity in any combination of formalized instruction and student Independent Learning/ Research Activities.
   3. Clinical Experiences
      1. Applies to the Dental, Medical and Pharmacy Professional programs and the Anesthesia Graduate Program during which students are required to participate in clinical sciences, patient care and/or practical experiences.  These experiences expose students to all facets of dental, medicine and pharmacy practice in a variety of clinical and/or practical settings.
      2. Exposes students to diagnostic and therapeutic skills, with experiences in patient management and examines the ethical dilemmas of contemporary medicine.
      3. Requires faculty to regularly provide special teaching sessions appropriate to the learning level of Professional and Graduate Students.
         1. One (1) Semester Credit is awarded for each week (five (5) days) or 36 to 45 hours of on-task activity in any combination of formalized instruction and student Independent Learning/Research Activities.
   4. Guidelines for Calculating Semester Credit
      1. Awards Semester Credit in half (.50) credit increments utilizing the following rounding guidelines:

• 3. Reviews of course proposals for approval and course schedules should be made by Curriculum Committee(s) to ensure appropriate contact time for credit value proposed and/or awarded.
  4. Requires the Office of the Registrar to ensure that appropriate credit values are recorded on student transcripts based on courses approved by the Curriculum Committees of each college for each program offered.

E. Review of Policy and Procedure Statements

1. Periodic review of the Policy and its application by Academic Affairs, the Office of the Registrar and each Curriculum Committee are required to comply with Semester Credit calculations for federal financial aid/Title IV funding and for compliance with each of our accreditation bodies.
2. The Office of the Registrar will assign a review date and primary reviewer. The responsibility of the primary reviewer is to invite comments or proposed revisions to the policy from relevant stakeholders.  The Policy will be reviewed and revised as necessary at least every five (5) years and concurrently with accreditation review cycles.

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