Credit Hour Policy

Credit Hour Policy

American Jewish University measures the academic weight of courses based on a credit-hour/credit-unit. A credit-hour is defined as an institutionally established equivalency of the amount of work represented in intended learning outcomes and verified by evidence of student achievement that reasonably approximates not less than:

1. One clock-hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of two clock-hours of out-of-class student work each week for approximately fifteen weeks for one semester or trimester hour of credit, or 10 to 12 weeks for one quarter hour of credit, or the equivalent amount of work over a different amount of time; or
2. At least an equivalent amount of work as required in paragraph one (1) of this definition for other academic activities, including laboratory work, internships, practica, studio work, and other academic work leading to the award of credit hours.

Credit Hour Overview

For traditional lectures and seminars, a 1.0 credit class meets fifty (50) minutes per week over the course of the semester. A semester at AJU is fifteen (15) weeks long, including a one-week final exam period. All instructors are mandated to meet their classes during this final exam period. To account for instruction days lost due to observed Jewish holidays, AJU instructors have been tasked to make-up instruction through a variety of means including but not restricted to online instruction, field work, conferences, and additional assignments.

Clinical experiences or academic internships

A 3.0 credit internship is approximately equivalent to a ten-hour (10hrs) per week commitment and a 6.0 credit internship is approximately equivalent to a twenty-hour (20hrs) per week commitment. To receive 3.0 credits for the internship, a student should complete a minimum of one-hundred fifty (150) hours in a semester. To receive 6.0 credits for the internship, a student should complete a minimum of three-hundred (300) hours in a semester.

Laboratory classes

Typically meet one-hundred (100) minutes or more per week per 1.0 credit hour.

Clock-Hour Overview

The Department of Education has defined a “clock hour” to include synchronous or asynchronous class, lecture, or recitation where there is an opportunity for direct interaction between instructors and students. As part of the definition of a “clock hour” is a period of time consisting of (1) a fifty (50) to sixty (60) minutes of class, lecture, or recitation in a sixty (60) minute period; (2) a fifty (50) to sixty (60) minute faculty-supervised laboratory, shop training, or internship in a sixty (60) minute period; or (3) sixty (60) minutes of preparation in a correspondence course.

For distance learning, the Department of Education adds that a “clock hour” may include fifty (50) to sixty (60) minutes of active participation in an asynchronous learning activity involving academic engagement activity in which a student interacts with technology that can monitor and document the amount of time that the student participates in the activity.