Credit Hour Definition | Minneapolis College of Art and Design

Credit Hour Definition

Lecture/discussion courses
In lecture/discussion courses requiring outside preparation, 1 hour of credit represents 50 minutes of contact time each week in class and 2 hours of work outside of class. Therefore, a 3-credit lecture course requires 2.5 hours in class per week and approximately 6 hours outside of class.

Studio/laboratory courses
In studio/laboratory courses, 1 hour of credit requires a minimum of 1.5 hours of contact hours each week in class and approximately 1.5 hours of work outside of class. Therefore, a 3-credit studio course represents a minimum of 4.5 contact hours in class and approximately 4.5 hours of work outside of class per week.

Online asynchronous courses
In online courses, 1 hour of credit requires approximately 3 hours of work per week for all activities (i.e., reading, viewing, making, scanning, responding to discussion threads, collaborating, etc.). Therefore, a 3-credit online course requires approximately 9 hours per week to complete the necessary activities.

Course Credit Hour Assignment Procedures
MCAD maintains a review process to determine the number of credit hours a course is worth. This process involves various committees or reviews at department, divisional, and institutional levels. The Registrar’s office ultimately ensures compliance with institutional policies and accreditation standards.

Key steps of course credit assignment:

  1. Chair/director review: Faculty within academic departments develop and evaluate course content and learning outcomes.

  2. Credit hour standard: Credit hours are assigned based on the amount of work required within a specific time period, according to the credit hour definition.

  3. Institutional approval: All new courses and changes to existing courses are reviewed by the Academic Cabinet prior to their addition to the catalog and schedule.

  4. Registrar: The Registrar ensures compliance with credit hour policies, verifies the schedule, and maintains course records.

  5. Consistency: Academic Affairs and Teaching and Learning Excellence ensure that all modalities maintain the same learning outcomes and workload expectations.

  6. Transfer credit: The College has institutional guidelines for evaluating and award ing credit for courses taken at other institutions.

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Land Acknowledgement

The Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) acknowledges it is located on traditional, ancestral, and contemporary lands of Indigenous people. This is the ancestral homeland of the Dakota and Ojibwe people, who were forcibly exiled from the land because of aggressive and persistent settler colonialism. We recognize that this place has a complex and layered history. As a community dedicated to creativity, MCAD is committed to ongoing efforts to support and advocate for American Indian Nations and peoples.


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MCAD admits students of any race, color, creed, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, or marital status to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, or marital status in the administration of its educational policies, scholarship and loan programs, and other school-administered programs.