Generally, courses meet one clock hour each week during the semester for every credit hour stipulated in the course description. Thus, a "3 cr. hr." course meets three hours each week during a 15-week semester. However, two or three hours (or more) of laboratory, studio or other learning activities will count the same as one hour of lecture. Students should understand that one hour in class normally requires two hours of preparation, reading or outside work. Thus, a full-time student enrolled for 15 credits should be prepared to devote as much as 30 hours to out-of-class learning activities, in addition to time spent in the classroom.
While the College recognizes that most students must work at least part-time in order to meet their expenses during the academic year, studies have indicated that students' grades fall off significantly if they must work more than 20 hours per week while taking 12 credits or more in any given semester.
