The Office of Curriculum, Academic Effectiveness and Policy Development is exploring ways to clarify and simplify the distribution of credits process.
Erica Buckland Anderson, director of Curriculum and Catalog, is convening a task force that will review the process, rules and regulations and make recommendations.
Current processes and problems
Currently, faculty members must indicate how course credits are divided and then show the total number of hours for each activity. For example, a 3-credit-hour lecture course equals a distribution of 3 + 0 + 0 (lecture credits + lab credits + other credits). Those hours break down to 37.5 hours in the classroom and 90 hours of additional student work. These totals come from directives shared from the Colorado Department of Higher Education and the Department of Education.
Faculty feedback
However, faculty feedback shows that listing these numbers is cumbersome and often inaccurate when the courses begin. For example, an online course operates much like a lecture course, but students don’t spend 37.5 hours in the classroom over the semester. Instead, those hours are lumped together with the additional student work hours as students progress through materials. Courses with multiple components, such as a lecture and laboratory course, present even more complexities.
If you are a faculty or staff member who would like to make these processes more accurate, efficient and clear, please express your interest in joining the task force by contacting Buckland Anderson.