SWOSU Credit Hour Policy

This policy is represented in part in the following web addresses:

• https://bulldog.swosu.edu/publications/policies/registrar/index.php
• https://bulldog.swosu.edu/publications/policies/distance-education.php

All credits are earned in semester hours. Semester hour credits are calculated as follows:

1. One semester hour is awarded for a lecture class meeting one hour (50 minutes) per week and a minimum of two additional hours of work outside of class time for 16 weeks exclusive of enrollment, orientation, and vacation time, or an equivalent amount of work for a different amount of time.
2. One semester hour of credit will normally be awarded for a laboratory meeting a minimum of two hours per week for 16 weeks.
3. Instruction offered through a combination of classes and laboratory meetings will normally observe the standards set forth in (1) and (2) above.
4. Hybrid or Online classes meet the semester hour standard if they meet one of the following criteria:
   1. The course covers the same material in the same depth as a face-to-face version of the same course, OR,
   2. The course has been evaluated by the department and college for content and rigor, and the department and college have approved the semester hour credit to be awarded.
5. Consistent with SWOSU Distance Education Policy, distance education courses must have regular, faculty-initiated interaction with students, meet the same student learning outcomes, and use comparable student assessments as the equivalent face-to-face course.