Course Credit
Definition of a Credit Hour
In accordance with U.S. Department of Education regulations (34 C.F.R. § 600.2), a credit hour represents an amount of academic work reflected in intended learning outcomes and verified by evidence of student achievement. A credit hour is an institutionally established equivalency that reasonably approximates not less than one of the following:
- One hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of two hours of out-of-class student work each week for approximately fifteen weeks in one semester or an equivalent amount of work over a different period of time, or
- An equivalent amount of work for other academic activities as established by the institution, including laboratory work, internships, practica, studio work and other academic work leading to the award of credit hours.
Base Contact Hour
The faculty Base Contact Hour is a standard measure used to reflect the use of faculty instructional resources by students. It represents the number of scheduled minutes of instructional activity involving direct contact between faculty and students during a given term using a specific method of instruction.
Under the semester system, one Base Contact Hour equals a minimum of 750 minutes of instruction, which is equivalent to at least fifteen 50-minute instructional hours per semester.
Base contact time varies depending on the type of course. Required contact hours are reflected in the schedule of classes. Some UNC courses may be repeated for credit and are identified as such in the course description section of this Catalog, along with the maximum amount of credit allowed.
For repeated courses, grades of F, U, NC, NG, IP, UW, W and I that are not completed within the allotted time are not included in earned credit hours.