Definition of Academic Credit

Greenville University measures Student Work as a proxy for the “amount” of learning we would expect by a typical college student in a course we offer. In traditional courses a student earns a credit by completing assigned work, at an acceptable level of quality that is scheduled for an hour a week of supervised time, plus two hours a week of unsupervised time, over a 16 week semester (that includes final exams).

We recognize alternate ways of expressing this standard, adaptable to various modes of instruction. We can also say that a credit’s worth of Student Work can be accomplished in 42 hours of learning activity of various kinds. The continuing development of innovative instructional methods will require creativity and flexibility in applying this standard. Instructors are expected to pursue a good-faith equivalency to them as they design courses, in order to maintain consistency across courses and among schools with which we exchange credits.