Credit Hour Policy
All courses at ArtCenter College of Design must meet the federal requirement for credit hours. A credit hour is an amount of work represented in intended learning outcomes and verified by evidence of student achievement that is an institutionally established equivalency that reasonably approximates not less than:
- One hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of two hours of out-of-class student work each week for one semester or the equivalent amount of work over a different amount of time; or
- At least an equivalent amount of work as required in paragraph (1) of this definition 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.
The above policy is applicable to all courses offered, regardless of the mode of delivery and/or session length (e.g. full term-length, weekend mode, abbreviated term, face-to-face, hybrid, online, etc.).
Institutional Procedures for Determining Credit Hour Assignments
Upon proposing a new course, ArtCenter educational programs work with their Chairs, Divisional Deans and Enrollment Services (Registrar’s office) to verify that the credit hour assignment for the course is appropriate. Curricula are reviewed annually by these same parties via the annual curricular update process, which includes review of the credits assigned to courses.