THE CITY COLLEGE OF NEW YORK

Credit Hour Policy and Procedures

The City College of New York has policies and procedures in place to determine the number of credit hours awarded for courses and programs. These policies and procedures include faculty, staff, and administrators at multiple levels (departmental, college, and institutional). They comply with commonly accepted practice in higher education as well as CUNY policies and regulations which adhere to all guidelines of the New York State Education Department, whose guidelines, in turn, adhere to all guidelines of the United States Department of Education (NYSED). The college’s policies and procedures apply to courses in all delivery formats (online, face to-face, or hybrid) and at all locations (main campus or approved external instructional sites).  These policies and procedures are published and available on the campus web site, college catalog and CUNY website.  

Definition of Credit Hours

The City College of New York and CUNY policies and regulations in regard to credit hours adhere to all guidelines of the New York State Education Department, whose guidelines, in turn, adhere to all guidelines of the United States Department of Education (NYSED). All courses and programs are submitted to and are approved by the NYSED. 

Official CUNY guidelines for the assignment of credit hours are posted on the Scheduling Office website:

https://scheduling.ccnysites.cuny.edu/wp-content/uploads/Credit-Hour-Guidelines.pdf

A semester credit hour is defined as a credit or unit granted for the satisfactory completion of a course, which require at least 15 hours (of 50 minutes each) of instruction and at least 30 hours of supplementary assignments. This basic measure shall be adjusted proportionately to translate the value of other academic calendars and formats of study in relation to the credit granted for studying the two semesters that constitute an academic year. Following CUNY guidelines, The City College of New York operates on an academic year divided into two equal semesters of 15 weeks duration, a short winter intersession of three weeks, and various shortened summer sessions.

 Consistent with codes and regulations of the State of New York (NYSED) and CUNY, the actual amount of academic work that is required of a single semester credit hour is calculated as follows:

• Lecture, seminar, discussion, recitation:

A semester credit hour is an academic unit earned for fifteen 50-minute sessions of classroom instruction with a normal expectation of two hours of outside study for each class session. Typically, a three-credit-hour course meets three 50-minute sessions a week for fifteen weeks for a total of 45 sessions.

• Laboratory, practicum, workshop, studio, internships and other courses:

Additional credit hours beyond the minimum requirement are added based on the type of course and its structure.  These types of courses typically involve substantial outside preparation by the student.  See individual course descriptions for more information. 

• Fully online and hybrid course:

Credit hours are based on the same formula as above. A course that is fully online or partially online (hybrid) requires the same amount of direct computer-based work as the time spent in the class. The amount of student preparation is equivalent to the standard course models.

• Short Sessions:

Credit hours are earned in short sessions (e.g., summer sessions, winter intersessions) proportionately to those earned for the same activity during a regular session of the institution. Required minutes are divided over the number of days in the shortened session.

City College Policy on the Assignment of Course Credit Hours

All courses and credit assignments at City College must confirm to the CUNY and State Education Department definition. Course credit hours are reviewed and approved by the appropriate faculty bodies, the Office of the Provost, the CUNY Board of Trustees and New York State Education Department (if required) so as to ensure that the credit hours awarded are appropriate to CUNY policy and that the student learning outcomes and course requirements accurately reflect the amount of credit to be awarded for the course.   In those cases in which courses are part of a degree program, they are specified in the program proposal along with hours and credit.  Procedures for new Programs and Curricular Changes are published on the Academic Affairs website https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/academicaffairs/ccnypolicies

Subsequent to all faculty and College approvals, new courses and curricular changes are submitted to the Chancellor’s Report for Board of Trustee Approval:  

• Chancellor's Report

A credit hour statement is available for each course and is published in the course description in the City College Undergraduate and Graduate Bulletins.

 The course schedule is created by the department chair that is responsible for assuring that the course schedule complies with the credit hour policy.  This schedule is then submitted to the Scheduling Office for review and publication.  

 Information on the number of credit hours and the dates, time, part of term, and delivery format for each course is published online through the course schedule and is publicly accessible prior to student registration each term. This process is monitored by the department chair, the registrar, The Office of Student Affairs and The Office of Academic Affairs. 

 Changes to the credit hour statement of a course must be approved through the institutional curriculum process.

Course Credit Hours and the Class Scheduling Process

Classes must follow the colleges “Bell Codes” to make sure that minimum contact hour requirements are met and so that classroom space is maximized.  These “Bell Codes” are below. 

BELL CODE / SECTIONS GRID (Spring and Fall Courses)

UNDERGRADUATE 3 HOUR CLASSES

UNDERGRADUATE 4 HOUR CLASSES

BELL CODE / SECTIONS GRID (Spring and Fall Courses)

UNDERGRADUATE 4 HOUR CLASSES (Continued)

GRADUATE CLASSES (2 Hours plus 1 hour Conference Hour Model)

GRADUATE CLASSES (3 Hours)

Hybrid Sections:  Departments running hybrid sections requesting 80 minutes or less of general purpose classroom space can meet once per week and should follow standard 3 credit undergraduate courses start times on the day they meet (8am, 9:30am, 11am etc.).  Ideally departments offering multiple hybrid sections should attempt to pair these section start times together to maximize space.   For example: Hybrid Section #1 meets Tuesdays 9:30-10:45am, Hybrid Section #2 meets Thursdays 9:30-10:45am.  Hybrid Sections: Departments running hybrid sections for 85-140 minutes that are requesting general purpose classroom should meet twice a week at standard bell code 3 hour start times.   Official CUNY guidelines for the coding of Modes of Instruction:

Recitation Sections: Departments needing general purpose classrooms for recitations should ideally meet on Fridays and or Tuesdays 12:30 – 1:45pm. 

Lecture part of Lecture Lab/Recitation sections:  Departments requesting general purpose space for the lecture portion of these sections should use 3 hour bell code times for the lecture if it is under 3 hours/150 minutes per week.   Or use the 4 hour bell code time if the lecture portion is 4 hours 160-200 minutes per week.

SUMMER BELL CODE

Summer Extended Schedule:

In general 3 hour classes in the summer meet 3 days a week for 110 Minutes (add 36 minutes per extra hour)

Start times are: 8:30am (1XA), 10:30am (1XB), 1:20pm (1XC), 3:20pm (1XD), 6pm (1XW), and 8pm (1XX)

First and Second Session 3 Hour classes meet:

4 days a week for 175 minutes (this includes a 20 minute break)

Start times are: 8:30am (1AA or 2AA), 11:30am (1LL or 2LL), 2:30pm (1MM or 2MM), and 6pm (1YY or 2YY)

First and Second Session 4 Hour classes meet:

4 days a week meet for 222 minutes (this includes a 20 minute break)

Start times are: 9:15am (1BB or 2BB), 1:20pm (1CC or 2CC), and 6pm (1WW or 2WW)

WINTER SESSION CLASSES

Winter session classes typically meet on a Tuesday-Friday schedule for three weeks.  These must meet for a minimum of 750 minutes per contact hour.