Whitman College



Calculation of Credits – a User’s GuideEstimate number of hours of faculty instruction units (FIU’s) per semester.This is a measure of actual instructor/student face time and is perfectly straightforward if your class meets regularly (less so if your class meets on a non-regular basis.)For a standard 3-credit course that meets M,W,F:50 minutes/class X 3 classes/week X 14 weeks/semester = 2100 minutes per semester2100 minutes/60 minutes per hour = 35 hours per semester of direct faculty instructionFor a class that meets T,Th from 1:00-2:2080 minutes/class X 2 classes/week X 14 weeks = 2240 minutes per semester2240 minutes/60 minutes per hour = 37 hours per semester of direct faculty instructionFor ease of calculation of FIU’s for this example, take the average of the examples, or 36 hours direct faculty instruction per semester. Divide this number by 12 to get “Faculty Instruction Units.” In this case,36 / 12 = 3 FIU’sEstimate number of expected out-of-class student work units (SWU’s) per semester.For standard courses, this should be twice the number of hours of direct faculty instruction time. So for a standard 3-credit course (again using the average of 36 hours from above):36 X 2 = 72 hours per semester of out-of-class student work (this would be about 5 hours of out-of-class student work per week, on average)Divide this number by 24 to get “Student Work Units.” In this case,72 / 24 = 3 SWU’sGeneral FormulaFIU’s + SWU’s = # credits for course! 2In this example: 3 FIU’s + 3 SWU’s = 3 credits for course!2ExamplesExample 1: A class meets four times a week for 50 min each meeting50 min/class X 4 classes/wk X 14 wks/semester = 2800 minutes/semester2800 minutes/60 min per hour = ~ 47 hours per semester faculty instruction47/12 = ~4 FIU’s47 X 2 = ~ 93 hours expected out-of-class student work per semester (this amounts to between 6 and 7 hours per week, on average)93/24 = ~4 SWU’sUsing the General Formula: 4 FIU’s + 4 SWU’s = 4 credits for course! 2Example 2: Class + labA 3-credit course (see previous example) PLUS a ~ 3-hour laboratory session per week for the duration of the semester, with appropriate out-of-class student work. Same calculation as for a standard 3-credit course, plus the laboratory session is defined as 1 credit in the Credit Hour Policy, for a total of 4 credits.Example 3: A class meets M,W,(F) from 1:00-2:20Class meets for 80 min, twice a week for the entire semester, PLUS meets for 50 minutes on ten of the optional Fridays for recitation/review sessions, engaged learning, etc.(80 min X 2 classes/wk X 14 wks/semester) + 500 min Fridays = 2740 min per sem2740 min / 60 min per hour = ~ 46-ish hours46 / 12 = ~4 FIU’s46 X 2 = 92 hours out-of class student work, or 92/24 = ~4 SWU’sUsing the General Formula: 4 FIU’s + 4 SWU’s = 4 credits for course! 2 Example 4: 2-credit Independent StudyStudent/faculty meet for 50 min/week for 14 weeks 50 min/week X 14 weeks = 700 min per semestermin / 60 min per hour = 11-12 hours faculty instruction time12 / 12 = 1 FIUOut-of-class student work expected to “make up” for less formal class time, so:72-ish hours out-of-class student work per semester divided by 24 = 3 SWU’s, or:72 / 24 = 3 SWU’sUsing the General Formula: 1 FIU + 3 SWU’s = 2 credit Independent Study! 2Bottom LineOne FIU = ~ 12 clock hours of direct instructional time over the course of a semesterOne SWU = ~ 24 clock hours of out-of-class student work time over the course of a semesterUse the General Formula: FIU’s + SWU’s = # credits for course2Note: Whitman currently has a 14-week instructional semester. ................
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