3-12.1 Procedure - Credit Hours Assignment

I.    Greenville Technical College adheres to the SBTCE Policy 3-2-201 for defining the Semester Credit Hour

1. Definition of Semester Credit Hour according to SBTCE Policy Number 3-2-201
   The instructional hour will be identified as 50 minutes. One semester credit hour of lecture will be identified as 750 minutes of lecture instruction or equivalent laboratory time.
   
   
   Therefore, a semester credit hour is normally granted for satisfactory completion of one 50-minute session of classroom instruction per week for a semester of not less than fifteen weeks or 750 minutes. This basic measure may be adjusted proportionately to reflect modified academic calendars and formats of study.
   
   
2. Contact Hour
   A contact hour is defined as a required time in which all students are directly engaged in interaction with the instructor(s) of the course, synchronously or asynchronously, either in the classroom or virtually through telepresence, web conference, or other online platforms.

II.  Credit Hour Guidelines: Lecture – Seminar – Discussion

One (1) semester hour of college credit will be awarded for each lecture hour. Students will be expected to work on out-of-class assignments weekly over the length of the course for each hour of formal class activity (see Credit Hour Instructional Timetable below).

1. Credit Hour Guidelines: Laboratory/Clinical practicum/internship

   The laboratory/clinical practicum/internship (referenced as lab hours in these procedures) experience is a traditional, structured, faculty-directed laboratory experience. Lab hours are intensive and highly-structured educational experiences requiring significant preparation, coordination, and scheduling by faculty. Lab experiences require faculty to provide overall supervision for students; however, daily supervision may be by an authorized representative of the college.

   For laboratory hours/clinical practicum/internship, one (1) semester hour shall be awarded for a minimum of three (3) lab hours in a standard week for which little or no out-of-class study is required. Therefore, the ratio of contact hours to credit hours is 3:1.  See Lab/Clinical Contact Timetable below.

   Lab/Clinical Contact Timetable

   Length of Term	Contact Hours per Week
   15	3
   14	3.2
   10	4.5
   8	5.6

    

2. Credit Hour Guidelines: Supervised Comprehensive Work Experience

   Supervised comprehensive work experience (SCWE) requires a written agreement between the employer and the college, including identical, detailed, predefined educational objectives and experiences for all students enrolled in the course. Further, a detailed written project to be completed by the student is required.

   The faculty and employer equally share supervision; however, supervision of the student by the faculty member with on-site visitation is required a minimum of every two weeks.

   All supervised comprehensive work experience will require four (4) contact hours to generate one (1) credit. The ratio will be 4:1.

3. Credit Hour Guidelines: Cooperative Work Experience (CWE)

   The educational objectives for CWE may be negotiated among the faculty, student, and work site supervisor and may vary among students enrolled. CWE is monitored by an authorized college representative a minimum of two times per semester (per SBTCE Guidelines for Credit Ratio) and provide the student with written feedback on their performance.  The faculty member may or may not require a written report to be completed by the student.

   CWE requires the student's supervision to be the employer's primary responsibility and requires a minimum of 75 clock hours and may not exceed 600 clock hours per term.

   All CWE courses will require five contact hours to generate one credit. The ratio will be 5:1. CWE 101 is the only exception to this rule: CWE 101 is a preparatory course that may be used with a 1:1 ratio. This course includes information that will prepare the student for the ensuing cooperative work experience courses.

4. Course Delivery Format Equivalency
   1. Fully Online Courses: Courses are offered entirely online without regard to face-to-face meetings. These courses offer the same semester credit hours as traditional semester-length classes. Students are expected to be academically engaged with comparable learning outcomes of a standard lecture course with alternate delivery methods. Contact time is satisfied through several means, which can include but are not limited to the following: a) web-based synchronous meetings using tele- and/or video-conferencing software at times scheduled in advance by the faculty member; b) academic engagement through interactive tutorials, video lectures, online chats, group discussions moderated by faculty, virtual study/group projects, engaging with class peers and computer tutorials graded and reviewed by faculty. There are no in-person requirements for students.
   2. Blended Courses: Courses offered in a blended format with one or more required face-to-face class sessions and one or more required online sessions; include a minimum of 25% face-to-face instruction on campus or at an approved off-site location, with the remaining course instruction time occurring online. These courses offer the same semester credit hours as traditional semester-length classes. Contact time may be satisfied through several means, which can include but are not limited to the following, scheduled on-campus meetings/classes, web-based synchronous meetings using tele- and/or video-conferencing software at times scheduled in advance by the faculty member, academic engagement through interactive tutorials, video lectures, online chats, group discussions moderated by faculty, virtual study/group projects, engaging with class peers, and computer tutorials graded and reviewed by faculty.

   Refer to Appendix A for additional guidelines related to online and blended courses.

III.  Course Identification, Course Hours, and Credits

Each course is identified with a three-letter prefix, a three-digit number, and the course title - for example, ENG 101, English Composition I. When developing a new course, the number of contact hours necessary is based upon direct instructional time and the variety of learning activities necessary for students to achieve the course learning objectives described above. Keep this in mind when the number of credit hours is determined.

In the college catalog, course credit hours and contact hours will follow the course identification - for example, AHS 102 Medical Terminology (3-0-3). The following figure depicts the lecture and lab contact hours per week and the course credit hours.

If you add the number of lecture contact hours and lab contact hours, then multiply that total by 15, that will give you the total contact hours required for that course. Refer to the chart below for a 45-contact-hour course.

Although the ratio for laboratory/clinical practicum/internship courses is 3:1 (contact hours:credit hours), one to two lab contact hours may be added without increasing the number of credit hours; for example, ABR 102 Mig Welding is a 3-credit hour course. Specifically, it is a 2-4-3 course. Refer to the following image:

The credit hour breakdown of this course is as follows:

• 2 credit hours of lecture, therefore, 2 contact hours (1:1)
• 1 credit hour of lab accounts for 3 of the 4 contact hours (3:1)
• An additional contact hour of lab is included.
• Therefore, the total contact hours for this course is 90 hours/term (6x15).

For this course, if needed, one more contact of lab would be permitted, but if it is determined that two additional lab hours were required, the number of credit hours would need to be increased. Specifically, a new course with sufficient credit hours would need to be developed.

Courses offered in other parts of terms (e.g., 14-week, 8-week, flexibly scheduled, etc.) ensure equivalent workloads. Students should prioritize their time accordingly, particularly when taking part in term courses.

Appendix A

Contact hours in an online and blended course are less straightforward than face-to-face courses.  In these cases, direct instructional time can constitute a variety of activities with a pedagogical purpose that is planned, facilitated, and documented by the faculty member.  The table below provides an example of direct instructional activities and sample direct instructional times in a three (3) credit hour online class. Below is a guide for faculty when developing or revising online and blended courses.