Hours and Units

Hours on the course outline should be stated in terms of hours per week based on a twelve-week quarter. The following criteria are to be used in determining units: hours of class work and types of instruction. Both the type of instruction and the expectation of outside-of-class work are equally important and should be obvious in the course outline.

Lecture: One unit of credit is given for each hour per week of lecture. In a lecture class, the whole class is uniformly engaged in the academic activity (i.e., dissemination of information); for every hour of class, there is an expectation of two hours of work outside of class. (Title V: 55002: Carnegie Unit: "A minimum of three hours of work per week including class time for each unit of credit")
Laboratory: One unit of credit is given for each three hours per week of laboratory. In a lab class, students work independently, with individual guidance from an instructor on a need or request basis (not uniformly); there is no expectation of work outside of the three hours of class.
Total Hours: Express the total number of hours per week based on a twelve-week quarter. NOTE: The hour is based on a state-recognized 50-minute hour; no scheduled hour may be less than 50 minutes. For scheduling purposes, all classes must have a ten-minute passing time.

UNITS:

Units (based on a twelve-week quarter). A unit of credit is a quantitative measure assigned to courses. The most generally acceptable determinants of credit are student time invested, student competency reached, or course equivalent learning.