Credit Hour Definition1
Jacksonville State University's policies and procedures for determining the credit hours awarded for courses and programs conforms to the Office of Post-Secondary Education, US Department of Education's 2020 Code of Federal Regulation (CFR) 34 Section 600.2 credit hour definition2, which states:
A credit hour is an amount of student work defined by an institution, as approved by the institution's accrediting agency or State approval agency, that is consistent with commonly accepted practice in postsecondary education and that -
- Reasonably approximates not less than -
- One hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction 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 the equivalent amount of work over a different period of time; or
- At least an equivalent amount of work as required in paragraph (1)(a) of this definition 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; and
- Permits an institution, in determining the amount of work associated with a credit hour, to take into account a variety of delivery methods, measurements of student work, academic calendars, disciplines, and degree levels.
The institutional accrediting body for Jacksonville State University is the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) who also recognizes and uses as a basis, the Federal definition of a credit hour in its Credit Hours Policy Statement.
More information can be found on Faculty Handbook.
- 1
Revised 06/2023; 08/2024
- 2
US Department of Education (2020) § 600.2 Definitions -
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2020-09-02/pdf/2020-18636.pdf#page=68
Class Size
The institution reserves the privilege of withdrawing any course in which fewer than ten students have enrolled and of closing or dividing sections whenever it is deemed that the interests of the students will be better served.
Defining University Sponsored Events
University-sponsored events may include athletic events; trips for student organizations, concerts, and other performances; conference presentations; or other university-sponsored events (endorsed by a student club advisor or academic unit). Students participating in university-sponsored events will be given reasonable opportunities to make up missed assignments and exams. The “Authorization for JSU (Jacksonville State University) Sponsored Student Activity Form” (Form #35) must be completed by the student’s or group’s sponsor. The sponsor must route the form to the department head/director, dean (if applicable), and vice president/vice provost for approval prior to travel. The final authority for academic and athletic event requests resides with the Vice Provost of Academic Affairs. The final authority for student organization events resides with the Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management. The sponsor should ensure that participating students have access to the approved documentation, so that students can notify faculty and arrange to make up missed exams and/or assignments prior to missed classes. It is the student’s responsibility to notify faculty about upcoming absences and arrange to make up the missed work. Students are expected to inform their professors of any expected missed class time at the beginning of the semester. Faculty are expected to excuse absences for University-Sponsored events.
Sequence of Courses
Prerequisites listed in this catalog must be observed; students should complete all work on the freshman and sophomore levels before entering advanced courses. University courses numbered 400 and qualifying for graduate classification are open only to those students classified as juniors or seniors.
Attendance at Classes
Specific policies on attendance may be established by individual departments and colleges. These policies will be communicated to the students through the class syllabus at the beginning of the semester. Students are held responsible for attendance at all class meetings, except for university-sponsored events. Students are held responsible for all work assigned in the class, regardless of absences for university-sponsored events.
Tests and Examinations
Students who miss examinations or announced classroom assignments for legitimate reasons may take makeups, which shall be scheduled by the instructor at a reasonable time and under reasonable conditions. No penalty will be incurred either in the nature of examinations or grading. The legitimacy of the excuse for missing the test is to be determined by the individual instructor.
No regularly announced examination or final examination may be administered for the second time to the same student.
Testing Services is available to proctor make-up examinations at the discretion of the instructor.
Please call 256-782-8378 for information.
Testing Services is located in the basement of the Houston Cole Library.
First-Year Writing Course Placement
The Department of English houses the first-year writing program where students develop the critical thinking, reading, and writing skills needed to succeed and excel in coursework at the university. First-year writing courses are EH 100, EH 101, EH 102, EH 103, and EH 104. Current first-year writing course placement information may be found on the Department of English First-Year Writing website.