Course Credit Hours and Classroom Preparation Time

Ensign College measures academic credit in credit hours.  In accordance with federal regulation, a credit hour at the College is the amount of work represented in intended learning outcomes and verified by evidence of student achievement that reasonably approximates not less than:

• For semester-length courses, an average student can expect to spend a minimum of two hours in outside preparation time for every hour in class.  For example, in a 3-credit hour class, an average student can expect six hours of outside preparation time each week.  This represents the average student who is appropriately prepared; more time may be required to achieve excellence.
• For 7-week block courses, an average student can expect to spend a minimum of six hours each week, between in-class time and out of class, per credit hour. For example, in a 3-credit hour class, an average student should expect to spend 18 hours per week on the course. Block courses which require less in-class time compared to a full-semester class will require an increased amount of asynchronous work to achieve the learning outcomes. 
• These examples represent the average student who is appropriately prepared; more time may be required to achieve excellence.