Credit Hour Policies

Wheaton College abides by the federal definition of a student credit hour, which states that a credit hour is equivalent to:

• one hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction [for Wheaton, like the majority of colleges and universities, one hour is 50 minutes] and a minimum of two hours of out-of-class student work each week for approximately fifteen weeks for one semester or trimester hour of credit, or ten to twelve weeks for one quarter hour of credit, 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)(i) of this definition for other activities as established by an institution, including laboratory work, internships, practica, studio work, and other academic work leading toward to the award of credit hours. (34 CFR § 600.2)

For non-traditional courses, such as those that are hybrid with intensives or shorter than 15 weeks in length, Wheaton College provides corresponding standards for direct contact hours and outside-of-class work in the following two policies:

• Undergraduate Non-Traditional and Intensive Courses 
• Graduate Non-Traditional and Intensive Courses