Credit Hour Calculations

Transfer credits will be given for equivalent courses completed at regionally accredited institutions of collegiate level in which a minimum grade of “D-” is earned. No student may obtain a degree without a minimum residence of one year (30 semester hours) at Kutztown University and a minimum of 30 of the last 60 semester hours completed at this institution. Students transferring from another college are subject to the regulations stated in the University Catalog.

Students transferring from any institution of higher education to Kutztown University will be required to complete half of the minimum semester hour degree requirements in their major field at Kutztown University. The courses to be taken to fulfill this requirement must be at the upper level. In some cases, in order to comply with this regulation, a student may be required to complete more than 120 semester hours for the degree.

In accordance to the State System of Higher Education Academic Passport and Student Transfer Policy, Pennsylvania Community College and System students who meet the established eligibility criteria shall be granted an Academic Passport, which shall provide entry to any System University. This is limited to graduates of PA Community Colleges holding the Associate of Arts (A.A.) or Associate of Science (A.S.) degree(s) or incumbent students of State System universities with 12 credits or more of college-level work. All students must have a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 or greater.

Kutztown University Policy ACA-023 Transfer Credits from Other Institutions

Kutztown University Policy ACA-057 GPA Calculations and Transfer Grades

Credit Evaluations

Kutztown has policies and procedures for the assignment of credit hours and the consistent application of these policies. The University periodically reviews the application of procedures for credit hour assignment and adheres to and reviews courses and programs that do not follow the federal definition of “credit hour” or its equivalent.

Kutztown University, like most of higher education, has adopted a variant of the Carnegie Unit. Kutztown, as one of the fourteen campuses of PASSHE, is centrally administered and must comply with the standard Board of Governor’s policies regulating all significant areas of educational activities. Furthermore, the State System was once a unit within and continues to comply with Pennsylvania Department of Education State Board of Education regulations. The relevant Code states: “One college semester credit is defined as 14 hours of classroom instruction. A three-credit semester-based course would need to meet for 42 hours or rigorous college classroom instruction over the semester. The academic requirements the hours of classroom instruction cannot be calculated to include exams (i.e., final exams). A typical semester course meets for 14 weeks of instruction, after which the final may be given in the 15th week. Moreover, the scheduled weeks of class may not include holidays.” Complete Citation: Title 22 (Education) of the Code, Part I (State Board of Education), Sub-part C (Higher Education), Chapter 31 (General Provisions), Section 21 (Curricula)-Section 22 (Academic Year).

One way the Kutztown University Calendar Committee ensures compliance with these regulations is to not only require a semester of 14 weeks instructions, plus a finals week, but also the process requires a minimum of 14 meeting days for each day of the week. Fall and Spring semester courses, therefore, have a minimum of 14 classroom hours per credit prior to the final exam week. Lecture or seminar courses assume two hours of student preparation time for every hour of credit. As most lecture and seminar courses are three credits, over the entire semester a minimum of 42 classroom hours and 84 student preparation hours are expected, in addition to a final exam or experience during the 15th week.

Laboratory courses generally award one credit hour for two hours of scheduled supervised laboratory work. The most common “laboratory” courses contain a mixture of a required laboratory section and required “attached” lecture. For example, the general education Biology laboratory science course requires a two hour a week lecture for two credits and a two-hour laboratory section for one credit. This class would meet for a minimum of 56 hours in the course of the 14 weeks of instruction and have a final exam during the 15th (exam) week. Visual art studio courses also award one credit hour for two hours of scheduled supervised studio work. Students are also required to spend a minimum of one additional hour per week outside of class time for every credit hour in visual art studio classes. This class would meet for a minimum of 84 hours in the course of 14 weeks of instruction and have a final experience during the 15th (exam) week.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education State regulations indicate the following: “One college semester credit is defined as 14 hours of classroom instruction. A three-credit semester-based course would need to meet for 42 hours or rigorous college classroom instruction over the semester. The academic requirements the hours of classroom instruction cannot be calculated to include exams (i.e., final exams). A typical semester course meets for 14 weeks of instruction, after which the final may be given in the 15th week. Moreover, the scheduled weeks of class may not include holidays.”

The formula also includes the expectation that students will invest 2 hours of preparation time for every 1 credit of course content. For the typical student who enrolls in 15 credit hours per semester, this would mean an additional 30 hours of preparation beyond the class time.

Kutztown University operates under a Collective Bargaining Agreement, which states: “For all academic faculty members, the full workload for the academic year shall not exceed twenty-four (24) workload hours (with twelve (12) workload hours as standard for a term). In no event shall more than fifteen (15) workload hours be assigned in any one (1) academic term unless overload, as provided for in this Agreement, is paid. Laboratories, studios, clinics, and field and activity courses shall be equated on the basis of three (3) contact hours being equal to two (2) workload hours for that period of time which is actually spent in such work. Where such types of courses also include lecture hours, each hour of scheduled lecture is to be considered a workload hour. However, each contact hour in laboratories in chemistry, biology, physics, allied health science and earth science shall be assigned one (1) workload hour.”

Citation: Title 22 (Education), I.C.31.21-22

http://www.pacode.com/secure/data/022/chapter31/s31.21.html

Citation: Agreement Between The Association of Pennsylvania State College and University (APSCUF) AND The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (State System) for Faculty. Article 23 - Workload and Workload Equivalents, Section A.1, pp.73-76.

The Middle States Commission on Higher Education decennial self-study as well as the five-year interim report provides reviews of the policies and procedures for credit hour assignment.

The master calendar, following the directions and specifications outlined above, is reviewed and approved annually by the Administrative Council. The University Registrar monitors semester offerings for compliance (this is primarily a software function). Similarly, semester course schedule creation is a Registrar’s Office function with input from academic departments and deans. The new course or program approval process identified above requires college committee then University Curriculum Committee review, with wide management review and oversight coordinated by the Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies who is the sole “course master” gatekeeper. Offerings are also monitored by the other various accrediting bodies, such as NCATE, National Association of Schools of Art and Design, National Association of Schools of Music, as well as others specified above.

There are several types of programs and courses that do not follow the 14 weeks of instruction followed by an exam pattern. One example is summer sessions, which do not run for 14 weeks, one hour of class meeting time per credit per week, but follow the model of 3 hours per week per credit for a five-week semester. Three-credit summer and summer travel courses all follow the minimum 42 hours of classroom instruction and 84 hours of student preparation as outlined in “Policies and Procedures for Credit Hour Assignment” above, only compressed to fit into fewer weeks.

Supervised individual activities, such as Independent Study and Individual Instruction (defined as study given initial guidance, criticism review, and final evaluation of student performance by a faculty member), are awarded credit for the equivalent hours of student activity. All written Independent Study proposals are reviewed in advance and approved by the faculty supervisor, the department chair, and the academic dean. Some departments and colleges have an additional Independent Study review/approval committee. The option of Independent Study within a department must be approved by both the college curriculum committee as well as the University curricular process. Individual Instruction courses follow the identical syllabus as the course covering the same material and assessments. They are offered only under specific conditions and limitations. Individual Instruction courses are regular catalog courses, which are not scheduled to be offered in that particular semester or session. Students must be matriculated, with a minimum of 32 credits already earned, the course must be a required course in the student’s curriculum, and it may not be a repeat of a course taken previously. A student may be permitted one Individual Instruction during a term of study, and a student enrolled in a course under Individual Instruction may meet with the instructor for an additional five contact hours per credit offered.

In addition, student teaching is essentially full time under the supervision of a licensed practicing teacher with direct observations from Kutztown University faculty. One semester credit hour is awarded for each week of work. All student teachers are required to have a two hour a week in-person on-campus practicum recitation with Kutztown University faculty.

Citation: Title 22 (Education), I.C.31.21-22

http://www.pacode.com/secure/data/022/chapter31/s31.21.html

Program checksheets