5.1.6sr2 - SRTC Procedure: Credit

As a unit of the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG), Southern Regional Technical College (SRTC) adheres to the TCSG General Program Standards and Program Specific Standards to determine the credit hours awarded for courses and programs. As determined by the State Board of the Technical College System of Georgia (SBTCSG) Policy 5.1.2: General Program and Program Specific Standards, a semester credit hour is defined under Program Structure Standard Number 02-02-06.

Southern Regional Technical College conforms to the commonly accepted practice in higher education for determining credit hour awards for courses and programs.

In accordance with federal requirements. 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 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 outlined in item 1 above 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.

Southern Regional Technical College differentiates between lecture-based instruction and lab-based instruction in its definition of a semester credit hour. The College defines a standard semester credit hour as 750 minutes of lecture-based instruction in one term or one contact hour to one credit hour. Demonstration labs are defined as instruction which emphasizes teacher-assisted learning activities. One semester credit hour for demonstration labs equals 1,500 minutes or two contact hours of instruction. Practical labs are defined as instruction which emphasizes structured activities and requires application and practice of occupational competencies. One semester credit hour for practical labs equals 2250 minutes or three contact hours of instruction. All courses, regardless of the mode of instructional delivery, will follow these credit hour standards.

The faculty is responsible for the curriculum development and credit hours assigned to courses in each of the academic programs. Southern Regional Technical College adheres to SBTCSG Policy 5.1.6: Structure of Associate Degree, Diploma, and Technical Certificate of Credit Programs and TCSG Procedure 5.1.6p: Structure of Associate Degree, Diploma, and Technical Certificate of Credit Programs. This policy delineates the minimum/maximum number of semester credit hours allowed for each program.

Policies and Procedures conform to commonly accepted practice in higher education and include the federal definition of credit hour as outlined in Commission policy.

These standards used by SRTC for determining the credit hours awarded for courses and programs conform to commonly accepted practices in higher education when compared to similar systems in other states in our region as evidenced by the chart provided in the Comparison of Practices for Awarding Credit amongst Higher Learning Systems (see References).

Responsibility
The Vice President for Academic Affairs has the overall responsibility for ensuring this procedure is implemented

References:
SBTCSG Policy 5.1.2: General Programs and Program Specific Standards
SBTCSG Policy 5.1.6: Structure of Associate Degree, Diploma, and Technical Certificate of Credit Programs
TCSG Procedure 5.1.6p: Structure of Associate Degree, Diploma, and Technical Certificate of Credit Programs
SACSCOC Credit Hours Policy
Comparison of Practices for Awarding Credit amongst Higher Learning Systems

Status:

Adopted: 02-09-2015
Implemented: 07-01-2015
Revised: 08-19-2021