A College of Wooster course is equivalent to four semester-hours of credit and is counted as 1.0 units of credit. A 1.0 Wooster unit is equivalent to four semester hours. Wooster students earn a total of 32.0 units minimum or the equivalent of 128 credit hours for a bachelor’s degree.
There are three distinct pieces to a course (1) Classroom time, (2) Direct instruction, and (3) Indirect student work.
- Classroom time: The typical semester course meets over 14 weeks (plus one week of final exams) for three class hours of direct instruction per week: either three 50-minute periods per week, two 80-minute periods per week, or one 3-hour seminar.
- Direct instruction: Courses entail the equivalent of one additional hour of direct instruction per week; this instruction, provided by faculty members or qualified instructors, includes, but is not limited to the following:
- Office hours with faculty
- Required film viewings or experience with other media
- Required attendance at outside speaker lectures, concerts, or other relevant events
- Reading and responding to instructor feedback on student writing
- Participation in field trips on or off campus
- Faculty-student preparation and attendance at conferences or colloquia
- Review sessions
- Additional class sessions
- Library instruction held outside of regular class hours
- Educational Technology instruction held outside of regular class hours
- Experiential learning components
- Discussion sessions held outside of regular class time
- Writing tutorials, sessions at the Writing Center
- Math Center, STEMZone sessions, and other tutoring sessions
- Language tables and departmental discussion tables in the dining hall or departmental brown bag events
- Required participation in a discussion forum moderated by a faculty member
- Required viewing or listening session to recorded lectures by the faculty member or a qualified instructor, as in a partially flipped classroom.
3. Indirect student work: Students should expect to spend a minimum of two hours of preparation time for each hour of classroom time and direct instruction (8 hours per week for a 1.0 credit course). This preparation can come in a variety of forms, e.g., independent reading, planning, writing, assignments, reflection.
Some courses require relatively more hours of in-class instruction for an equivalent number of units of credit. This difference reflects the different nature of classwork and the need for studio and laboratory space specific to that hands-on type of learning. Science labs are an example of courses which require more hours in class for the same amount of credit or same number of hours for less credit. Credit for some performance-related instruction will typically vary from 0.125 units to 0.50 units of credit, for example, depending on the time of direct instruction and the amount of class preparation usually required for the course.
Example: 1.0-unit courses
In accordance with the federal definition of a credit hour, 1.0-unit courses require at least 12 hours (i.e., 3 hours of work per credit x four credits per course = 12) of classroom, direct instruction, and/or indirect or out-of-class student work per week for 14 weeks, for a total of 168 hours per semester.
Generally, this would break down as follows:
For a 1.0-unit, classes that meet 3 hours per week (e.g., three 50-minute-long sessions, two 80-minute sessions, or one 3-hour session once per week)
Classroom time (3hrs/week) + Direct instruction (1hr/week) + Indirect student work (8hrs/week) = 12hrs/week
12hrs/week x 14 weeks/semester = 168 hrs/semester.
Example: 0.50-unit courses
Half-unit courses require at least 6 hours (i.e., 3 hours per credit x two credits per course = 6) of classroom, direct instruction, and/or indirect or out-of-class student work per week for 14 weeks, for a total of 84 hours per semester.
Generally, this would break down as follows:
For 0.50-unit classes that meet 2 hours per week
Classroom time (2hrs/week) + Indirect student work (4hrs/week) = 6hrs/week
6hrs/week x 14 weeks/semester = 84 hrs/semester.
Example: 0.25-unit courses
Quarter-unit courses require at least 3 hours (i.e., 3 hours per credit x one credit per course = 3) of classroom, direct instruction, and/or indirect or out-of-class student work per week for 14 weeks, for a total of 42 hours per semester.
Generally, this would break down as follows:
For 0.25-unit classes that meet 1 hour per week
Classroom time (1hr/week) + Indirect student work (2hrs/week) = 3hrs/week
3hrs/week x 14 weeks/semester = 42 hrs/semester.