Assignment of Credit Hours

Hartwick College Guidelines for Awarding Semester Hour Credits (rev.2014)

Hartwick follows NYSED regulations and practices governing the awarding of credit in the following manner:
 

  • One credit is equal to 12.5 contact hours (750 minutes): a 3-credit course must have at least 37.5 contact hours (2,250 minutes) per term and a 4-credit course, must have at least 50 hours (3,000 minutes) per term;
  • To be considered for credit, a contact hour must contain a significant amount of faculty-student contact (recommended by NYSED as student/faculty research, lectures, seminars, etc.);
  • The final exam period is counted as part of the contact-hour requirement;
  • The assumption is that for every one hour in class, students will have 2 hours of work/homework beyond the class time; therefore, it is expected that for every semester credit hour given, a total of three hours per week for each week of the term are required.

Additionally, Hartwick recognizes the following standard practices in Higher Education when awarding credits:

  • Science laboratories of 2-3 hours are counted as 1 credit;
  • Science laboratories of 4 or more hours are counted as 2 credits;
  • For studio courses, 3 hours of studio time and space are required for each 1 semester-credit (NASAD); state practice is 2-3 hours of studio for 1 credit
  • For online/web assisted/blended course, these courses have the same learning outcomes as the corresponding face-to-face offerings. Students are expected to actively engage with the instructor and/or materials posted by the instructor for a duration 12.5 hours per credit during a term. Online class activities include, but are not limited to, interactive instruction, recorded lectures, discussion boards moderated by the instructor, and other virtual study arranged by the instructor. Additionally, each credit requires two hours of outside preparation each week during a term.
  • Internships at Hartwick require 40 hours per credit.

Credit Awarding Process

The assignment of credits to a course occurs through a formal review process conducted at the appropriate levels of faculty governance. Typically this process involves approval at the academic department level, followed by divisional approval, followed by Faculty Council approval. topics courses are approved solely by the academic department offering the course. Off campus courses are approved according to the same procedures as other courses but are reviewed by the Off-Campus Studies Committee as well.

Considering the information listed above, Hartwick College awards credit as follows:

  • Credits for Hartwick courses are given in whole number increments only (1, 2, 3, 4, 5);
  • Credit for lecture courses is awarded based on the number of contact hours in a given term (e.g. a course meeting 37.5 hours per term will receive 3 credits);
  • Credit for a lab course is awarded based on the standard practice listed above;
  • A “studio” course meeting 6 hours per week (throughout a regular term) will receive 4 credits; a “studio” course meeting 6 hours per week for half of a regular term will receive 2 credits;
  • Short-term “regular” courses (January/June term) are awarded credits based on the number of contact hours/student work;
  • The standard practice for science based labs is used for other kinds of labs; in other words, for each additional 2-3 hours of lab-like activity (of which 1 hour has to be direct instruction/discussion by the faculty member), 1 credit will be given. For example:
    • For films, a 3-hour block of time per week, for viewing and discussion-in addition to the 3 hours of “lecture”-would receive 4 semester credits
  • Labs and lab-like activities that are only 2 hours in length include 2 hours of lab plus at least one hour of the student’s time for preparation and response/reflection;
  • Credit for Internships is awarded based on the standard practice listed above;
  • The standard practice for internships is adapted for credit for community-based learning; that is, students must complete 40 hours of community-based learning over the term for each additional credit;
  • The maximum credit for a “lecture” course is 4 credits;
  • The maximum credit for a “lecture-laboratory” is 5 credits;
  • The maximum credit for a “lab only” course is 3 credits (following state practices for contact hours);
  • The maximum credit for an “off-campus” course (January/June Term) is 4 credits;
  • Senior Theses are a minimum of 3 semester-credits in total, with a yearlong maximum of 6 credits; all Senior Theses in a specific major must be the same number of credits, set by the Department;
  • Directed and Independent Studies can range from 1-4 credits, depending on the project and extent of contact (with Department Chair’s approval).

Academic Calendar

Hartwick operates on a 4-1-4 calendar with a 14 week fall, 4 week January and 14 week spring term. Current and future academic calendars can be found on the Student Resources page.