Units of Credit

Unit Of Credit

The unit of college credit is based on the semester hour. It is normally given for a minimum of approximately one hour per week of lecture per semester, two hours per week of laboratory work per semester, or the equivalent.

A high school semester unit of credit normally requires about 60 hours of study. (A semester unit equals approximately half a Carnegie unit.)

A Continuing Education Unit (CEU), offered in some continuing education courses, is based on "the contact hours of participation in an organized continuing education experience under responsible sponsorship, capable direction and qualified instruction." Ten contact hours equal one CEU.

Classification Of Students By Credit

Students are classified in one of several ways:

• Freshman:  has less than 30 semester credits
• Sophomore:  has 30 or more semester credits
• Full-time:  carries 12 or more credits in a regular term
• Part-time:  carries 11 or fewer credits in a regular term

Credit Loads:

Credit load maximums each term depend on previous academic performance.

*Some vocational-technical programs have a higher maximum required for a term.