1.7.1 Assignment of Credit Hours Procedure
Related Minnesota State Board Policy: Policy 3.36 Academic Programs
Related Minnesota State Board Procedure: 3.36.1 Academic Programs
Purpose: To ensure Normandale Community College’s assignment of credit hours is consistent with the federal definition of the credit hour and conforms to commonly accepted practices in higher education. This procedure outlines the steps to comply with Normandale’s policy 1.7 on assignment of credit hours.
Part 1: Definitions. The credit hour definitions apply to all courses, regardless of delivery mode, consistent with Normandale policy 1.7 on assignment of credit hours.
Part 2: Course Credit Assignments. Each new credit course shall be brought through the curriculum approval process of the Academic Affairs and Standards Council (AA&SC) using the New Course Proposal Form. Changes in course credit assignments for existing courses shall be brought through the AA&SC curriculum approval process using the Course Change Proposal Form.
Each course proposal shall include the number of credits requested as well as the number of lecture, lab, studio, and clinical/practica hours per week. Each course proposal shall also include a common course outline (CCO) that specifies content to be covered and student learning outcomes. Credits requested shall conform to the federal credit hour definition as specified in Part 1: Normandale Policy 1.7, Subpart A on assignment of credit hours. All recommendations of the AA&SC are forwarded to the college president for final approval.
Part 3: Implementation
Subpart A: Dissemination of information to faculty. All recommendations of the AA&SC are recorded in the AA&SC meeting minutes and posted to the employee intranet. The decisions of the college president are recorded and posted on the employee intranet. All faculty are expected to be current with changes in the CCOs in their program area. It is the responsibility of the dean or designee (e.g., faculty chair) to direct new faculty members to the CCO for their course. Faculty are expected to follow the CCO in developing and delivering their courses.
Subpart B: Dissemination of information to students. Common course outlines will be available to students on the college website.
Subpart C: Course delivery mode. Decisions about delivery mode (i.e., accelerated, hybrid, online, and directed study) are made by the dean in consultation with faculty. These decisions are made when each semester schedule is developed. All faculty teaching the same course are expected to address, at minimum, the learning outcomes identified in the CCO, regardless of delivery mode.
Policy History:
Date of Implementation: Adopted and implemented prior to 2011
Department Owner: Erin Daly
Policy History and Subject of Revisions:
August 2018: Reviewed and revised.
Updated language regarding new courses and added language regarding changes to existing courses (part 2); updated language, removed language about internships (part 3).
Updated links
Next Review Date: August26, 2021