The purpose of this policy is to define credit hours, as used at Parami University. 

Scope

This is an academic policy, affecting students and academic staff of the University. 

Referenced Laws, Regulations, and/or Policies 

The Higher Education Licensure Commission, Office of the State Superintendent Of Education of the District of Columbia, requires that a postsecondary degree-granting educational institution shall maintain that all credits awarded for courses in degree programs shall be measured in credit hours. 

(D.C. Mun. Regs. Tit. 5, § A8004.9) 

Compliance/Policy Statement 

Parami University measures all course work in terms of credit hours. One credit hour is defined as requiring at least 45 academically engaged hours. 

Academically engaged time is a combination of instructional contact time and independent study time. Instructional contact time is defined as the time in which faculty and students have direct synchronous contact hours in which they can engage in instructional activities all at the same time. Independent study time is defined as the time in which students work in their own time, alone or with classmates, preparing and completing coursework as assigned by the faculty. The ratio of instructional contact time to independent study time may change depending on the nature of the course and the level of difficulty associated with the courses. However, independent study time must not be, in general, more than 75% of the total academically engaged time to ensure that there is a minimum amount of direct faculty-student instructional contact time. 

In general, 100- and 200-level semester-long courses are regarded as 3-credit hour courses, while 300- and 400-level semester-long courses are regarded as 4-credit hour courses. English Composition and Seminar courses are exceptions, as the courses require intensive independent study time in terms of writing assignments. The following table illustrates the general requirements for typical courses at the University. 

Review

The Academic Department is responsible for ensuring compliance with this policy in various units of its academic undertaking. 

Date