CHAPTER 5 POLICIES PERTAINING TO CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES

SECTION 16 - ACADEMIC SCHEDULING POLICIES

(To see who has authority to approve changes to this section, please see the Approval of Changes page).

A. Academic Calendar

Each year, an official Academic Calendar for the University is established in compliance with UW System Administration Policy 165 (formerly ACPS-4), Academic Year Definition and Assorted Derivatives; and Regent Policy Document 4-13 Academic Calendar Policy. This process is done in conjunction with the Chancellor, the Office of Academic Affairs, and the Academic Affairs Committee. The academic calendar compliance with U.S. Title IV, federal financial aid regulations is assessed by the Higher Learning Commission. Academic Calendar Requirements are as follows:

i. Contracting / Employment

a. The academic year (for 9-month contracts) must include 39 contiguous weeks (273 days total); these days include federal and state holidays.

b. Summer session begins after the 9-month contract period ends.

c. Contract periods may not overlap.

ii. Fall and Spring Term Structure

a. The fall semester cannot begin until September 2nd.

b. Final exams should not end later than December 22nd for fall semester.

c. Spring break is usually scheduled after the 8th week in spring semester.

d. A single week must contain at least 2 meeting days.

e. Classes that enroll degree seeking undergraduates and graduate students may not begin before the start date of the term nor conclude after the end date of the term.

f. Classes will utilize the term/session options promulgated by the Office of the Registrar scheduling procedures.

g. The academic calendar must provide for a five (5) day final exam week for each semester.

iii. Meeting Format

a. The number of days (instructional minutes) in the two-day and three-day class patterns (e.g., Tues/Thurs or Mon/Wed/Fri) should be reasonably balanced based on procedures promulgated by the Office of the Registrar.

iv. Winterim Session Structure

a. Must be at least 14 instructional days; use of one or two Saturdays may be required.

b. A final exam is required within the 14 instructional days of Winterim for each class offered.

c. No classes greater than 3 credits will be offered during Winterim session (see credit hour definition and policy below).

v. Summer Term Structure

a. Must be at least 13 weeks and may be broken into sessions that can be as short as a week in length and as long as 13 weeks depending on credit hour requirements.

b. Summer term will begin the week following the conclusion of Spring classes.

c. Session options will be based on scheduling procedures promulgated by the Office of the Registrar.

d. A final exam is required within the term for each class offered.

B. Credit Hour Definition and Policy

The U.S. Department of Education, Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA), and Program Integrity Regulations provide guidelines and regulations for credit hour policies. The expectation is that accredited institutions must formulate and adhere to a credit hour definition, and create appropriate policies and processes related to the awarding of academic credit that are consistent with commonly accepted standards in higher education.

For the purpose of understanding and calculating credit hours, classroom or direct instructional time is defined as time spent by students acquiring new information through specific lessons or activities developed by the instructor and/or time spent interacting with the instructor. Based upon the guidelines included in this document, departments and/or colleges must determine the appropriate credit hours when planning and scheduling courses.

The sections below provide information on federal, UW System, and UW-Stevens Point credit hour policies. The credit hour standards detailed here apply to all UWSP courses, regardless of mode of instruction (face-to-face, hybrid, online, etc.). While the types of learning activities and instructional strategies will understandably differ among modes of instruction, the expectations regarding direct instructional time (and student time spent in addition to direct instructional activities) are applicable irrespective of the delivery mode.

Federal and UW System Policies:

In 34 CFR 600.2 of the Code of Federal Regulations, a ratio of 1/3 (direct instruction or in-class time) and 2/3 (outside-of-class time) is explicitly discussed and recommended as reasonable practice when calculating credit hours. Likewise, this regulatory language also recognizes institutionally defined flexibility for instruction that takes place in laboratories, internships, studios, and other modes of delivery.

As outlined in UW System Policy 165 (formerly ACPS-4), and reaffirmed in the memo communicating Accreditation Policy Regarding Credit Hours, one (1) credit hour represents an investment of time by the student of not fewer than 48 total hours of course work. Approximately 1/3 of this time (16 hours) is devoted to classroom or direct instruction, and 2/3 of this time (32 hours) is expected to be performed by the student in out-of-class work.

UW-Stevens Point Policy:

One classroom or direct instruction hour equals 50 minutes. Therefore, as described above, when computing student course load, each credit hour represents 50 minutes of classroom or direct instruction each week for one semester (16 weeks, including finals week) and two hours of out-of-class student work time. For example, the following calculation demonstrates the total number of hours required to award of one (1) semester credit hour: (1 hour of direct instruction per week + 2 hours of student independent work time per week) x 16 weeks = 48 hours’ total work effort per semester credit hour.

1. Course Scheduling Policy: Minimum Classroom or Direct Instruction Time

Given the required 16 hours of classroom or direct instruction time per credit hour and the definition that one instructional hour equals 50 minutes, the minimum classroom or direct instructional times are defined in the table below.

Minimum Classroom or Direct Instruction Time Required per Week

2. Student Workload Calculations

For the purpose of calculating and understanding student workloads, the following explanation is helpful.

a. A typical 1.0 credit course = 48 total hours of student workload

b. A typical semester total credit load for students = 15 credits (to complete 120 credits in four years)

c. A typical 15 credit load = 720 hours of student workload devoted over the span of one semester (16 weeks)

d. Completing 720 hours over five (5) days per week = 9 hours of student effort devoted to all courses per day

e. Students are permitted to take up to 17 credits per semester without special permission, and this provides a defined value for the maximum student workload permitted for a semester.

f. At 17 credits per semester, the maximum student workload is 10.2 hours per day. This value represents the calculated maximum daily sustained student workload permissible, and this value in turn dictates the minimum calendar meeting days required when scheduling courses.

3. Course Scheduling Policy: Minimum Calendar Days

a. When scheduling individual courses, the minimum required meeting days must be achieved.

b. Given that 10.2 hours per day is the calculated maximum sustainable student effort, the minimum calendar days for courses from 1-5 credits are provided below.

i. credit = 48 hours = 4.71 days (approx. 1 week)

ii. 2.0 credits = 96 hours = 9.42 days (approx. 2 weeks)

iii. 3.0 credits = 144 hours = 14.12 days (approx. 3 weeks)

iv. 4.0 credits = 192 hours = 18.82 days (approx. 4 weeks)

v. 5.0 credits = 240 hours = 22.22 days (approx. 5 weeks)

c. The minimum number of scheduled days necessary for offering a one credit course is five. Requests for exceptions to this policy should be directed to the provost. However, exceptions cannot be granted for courses where the minimum number of days of effort cannot be attained for the credits to be awarded.