Assignment of Credit Hours Policy
Assignment of Credit Hours
Policy Number:
INST_0040
Policy Statement:
When allocating credit hours to courses and programs, Garden City Community College refers to the federal definition and the Kansas Board of Regents: Policy and Procedures Manual. Revised May 3, 2022 Details can be found in the following procedure.
Procedures:
Federal Definition of Credit Hour (34 CFR 600.2)
Credit hour: a credit hour is an amount of work represented in intended learning outcomes and verified by evidence of student achievement that is an institutionally established equivalency that reasonably approximates not less than:
- One hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of two hours of out of class student work each week for approximately fifteen weeks for one semester or trimester hour of credit, or ten to twelve weeks for one quarter hour of credit, or the equivalent amount of work over a different amount of time; or
- At least an equivalent amount of work as required in paragraph (1) of this definition for other academic activities as established by the institution including laboratory work, internships, practicum, studio work, and other academic work leading to the award of credit hours.
Kansas Board of Regents Policy
K.S.A. 71-601 et seq., K.S.A. 71-1801 et seq., K.S.A. 72-4480 and K.S.A. 72-4482 requires that the Kansas Board of Regents approve courses for which credit hours are awarded in community colleges. Procedures for receiving and acting on credit courses submitted by community colleges shall be the responsibility of the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Kansas Board of Regents. Procedures will ensure that quality of instruction is properly addressed by the colleges’ boards of trustees, and the approval of credit courses are acted on in a timely and effective manner.
Statutes Regarding Definition of Credit Hour
- S.A. 2011 Supp. 71-601.
- "Credit hour" means the basic unit of collegiate level instruction, as determined by the state board, in a subject or course offered at a level not higher than those subjects or courses normally offered to freshmen and sophomores in four-year institutions of postsecondary education which subject or course is approved by the state board.
- The term "credit hour" does not include instruction in a subject or course taken by a student enrolled for audit or in any subject or course not approved by the state
- The state board shall determine whether the subjects and courses offered in the community colleges are at the level of freshmen and sophomore subjects and courses offered in the state educational institutions and shall not approve for funding any subject or course offered at a higher level.
- K.S.A. 2011 Supp. 71-1802.
- “Credit hour” means the basic unit of collegiate level instruction, as determined by the state board, in a subject or course offered by any community college, technical college or the institute of technology at a postsecondary level not higher than those programs or courses normally offered to freshmen and sophomores in four-year public institutions of postsecondary education, in a program that has been approved by the state board.
- The term “credit hour” does not include instruction in a program or course taken by a student enrolled for audit or not for postsecondary credit, or in any program or course not approved by the state board.
- The state board shall determine whether the programs and courses offered are at the level of freshmen and sophomore programs and courses offered in the state educational institutions and shall not approve for funding any program or course offered at a higher level.
Qualitative Process for Course Approval
Quality of instruction is the responsibility of the community college governing Board of Trustees and by the chief executive officer. Each institution will utilize a process whereby credit courses are subjected to a qualitative process review prior to application for course approval. The review by each institution will minimally comply with the following expectations:
- courses meet the intent of S.A. 71-601 and 71-1802(c) in respect to level of instruction
- the amount of credit assigned to each course is appropriate for the skills, knowledge and competencies included therein
- faculty in the discipline or technical field have either initiated the course proposal or have been meaningfully involved in its review and recommendation for approval
- learning outcomes and appropriate assessment methods are clearly defined in the course outline, syllabus, and/or competencies identified
- facilities, equipment, and other learning resources are adequate to support the expected learning outcomes of the course
- a college “curriculum committee” or equivalent group composed of faculty and administration has reviewed the course proposals
Annually, the President or designee will request the chief instructional officer to provide a verification that the institution complies with the above criteria relating to a qualitative process review.
Standards for Determining Credit Hours for Courses
Credit is the basic unit of collegiate level instruction that is assigned to a course or courses equivalent learning. Credit may be awarded according to the following standards.
Time-based Standard
- A regular college semester is defined as 15 weeks of instruction and one week allocated for final exams.
- Lecture courses must meet for a minimum of 750 minutes per credit hour (50-minute hour for 15 weeks), plus time allocated for a final exam.
- Laboratory courses, including those in vocational-technical programs, must meet for a minimum of 1,125 minutes per credit hour (1.5 x 750 minutes). Laboratory courses are ones in which students predominantly are involved in experimentation or application learning activities.Internship, practicum, and on-the-job training courses must meet for a minimum of 45 hours (60 minute hour) per credit hour.
- Physical education activity courses must meet for a minimum of 1,500 minutes per credit
- Clinical courses and apprenticeship courses will meet the minimum required by the respective professional accrediting or regulatory agency but may not be less than the minimum required for laboratory courses as defined above.
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Per credit hour time expectations for different course formats: |
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Weeks in Term |
Class time minimum per week |
Minutes per week of study/preparation outside of class |
Total Student Time required in hours per week |
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In minutes |
In Hours (approx.) |
In minutes |
In Hours (approx.) |
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15 |
50 minutes |
1 hour |
100 minutes |
2 hours |
3 hours/week |
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12 |
62 minutes |
1 hour |
124 minutes |
2 hours |
3 1/8 |
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8 |
94 minutes |
1 ½ hour |
188 minutes |
3+ hours |
4 2/3 |
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6 |
125 minutes |
2 hours |
250 minutes |
4+ hours |
6 1/4 |
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3* |
250 minutes |
4 1/8 hours |
500 minutes |
8 1/3 hours |
12 1/2 |
* = No administrative approval will be given to students for more than one 3-credit hour course in a 3-week term.
All additional course lengths will be calculated in the same format as shown above.
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Total Hours of Expected Student Work Per Course |
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Weeks of Course Duration |
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15 |
12 |
8 |
6 |
3 |
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Credit Hours for Course |
1 |
3 |
3.13 |
4.67 |
6.25 |
12.5 |
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2 |
6 |
6.25 |
9.33 |
12.50 |
25 |
|
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3 |
9 |
9.40 |
14 |
18.75 |
37.5 |
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4 |
12 |
12.50 |
18.67 |
25 |
50 |
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5 |
15 |
15.60 |
23.33 |
31.25 |
62.5 |
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6 |
18 |
18.80 |
28 |
37.5 |
75 |
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Accelerated Course Enrollment Policy
Students are limited to one, three-credit hour lecture based course in an accelerated three-week course format. Due to the design of accelerated courses and to assist in student success, registration holds are in place through the Records office that prevent students from enrolling in more than one accelerated course offering simultaneously.
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Weeks |
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in Term |
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% of week (168 hours) |
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1 cr |
2 cr |
3 cr |
4 cr |
5 cr |
6 cr |
7 cr |
9 cr |
12 cr |
15 cr |
18 cr |
21 cr |
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16 |
1.43% |
2.86% |
4.29% |
5.71% |
7.14% |
8.57% |
10.00% |
12.86% |
17.14% |
21.43% |
25.71% |
30.00% |
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15 |
1.49% |
2.98% |
4.46% |
5.95% |
7.44% |
8.93% |
10.42% |
13.39% |
17.86% |
22.32% |
26.79% |
31.25% |
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14 |
1.61% |
3.21% |
4.82% |
6.43% |
8.04% |
9.64% |
11.25% |
14.46% |
19.29% |
24.11% |
28.93% |
33.75% |
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13 |
1.73% |
3.45% |
5.18% |
6.90% |
8.63% |
10.36% |
12.08% |
15.54% |
20.71% |
25.89% |
31.07% 33.21% |
36.25% 38.75% |
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12 |
1.85% |
3.69% |
5.54% |
7.38% |
9.23% |
11.07% |
12.92% |
16.61% |
22.14% |
27.68% |
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11 |
2.08% |
4.17% |
6.25% |
8.33% |
10.42% |
12.50% |
14.58% |
18.75% |
25.00% |
31.25% |
37.50% |
43.75% |
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8 |
2.80% |
5.60% |
8.39% |
11.19% |
13.99% |
16.79% |
19.58% |
25.18% |
33.57% |
41.96% |
50.36% |
58.75% |
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7 |
3.21% |
6.43% |
9.64% |
12.86% |
16.07% |
19.29% |
22.50% |
28.93% |
38.57% |
48.21% |
57.86% |
67.50% |
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6 |
3.75% |
7.50% |
11.25% |
15.00% |
18.75% |
22.50% |
26.25% |
33.75% |
45.00% |
56.25% |
67.50% |
78.75% |
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5 |
4.46% |
8.93% |
13.39% |
17.86% |
22.32% |
26.79% |
31.25% |
40.18% |
53.57% |
66.96% |
80.36% |
93.75% |
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4 |
5.60% |
11.19% |
16.79% |
22.38% |
27.98% |
33.57% |
39.17% |
50.36% |
67.14% |
83.93% |
100.71% |
117.50% |
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3 |
7.44% |
14.88% |
22.32% |
29.76% |
37.20% |
44.64% |
52.08% |
66.96% |
89.29% |
111.61% |
133.93% |
156.25% |
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2 |
11.19% |
22.38% |
33.57% |
44.76% |
55.95% |
67.14% |
78.33% |
100.71% |
134.29% |
167.86% |
201.43% |
235.00% |
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1 |
22.32% |
44.64% |
66.96% |
89.29% |
111.61% |
133.93% |
156.25% |
200.89% |
267.86% |
334.82% |
401.79% |
468.75% |
Contacts:
Policy History:
July 8, 2026: Revised for accessibility
May 3, 2022: Approved