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A. Credit Hour Policy

A. Definition of Credit Hour

The College of Law adheres to federal law and ABA definitions of a credit hour. ABA Standard 310(b) provides a “credit hour” is an amount of work that reasonably approximates:

  1. not less than one hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction and two hours of out-of-class student work per week for fifteen weeks, or the equivalent amount of work over a different amount of time; or

  2. at least an equivalent amount of work as required in subparagraph (1) of this definition for other academic activities as established by the institution, including simulation, field placement, clinical, co-curricular, and other academic work leading to the award of credit hours.

The College of Law currently operates on 15-week semesters in the Fall and Spring and an 8-week Summer term, inclusive of reading days and final exams. For the JU College of Law purposes, in-class time is calculated in 50 minute “hours” per credit over 15 weeks, or other equivalent for more-condensed courses. All faculty instruction time is calculated at this rate. All other academic time is calculated in 60-minute hours. For each credit, students are expected to spend a minimum of 2.5 hours on out of class time. This means that at least 42.5 total hours, accumulated through some combination of in-class and out-of-class time, are required for a "credit hour." 

Direct faculty instruction, for purposes of this policy, includes any time allotted for monitored examination, as well as any time allotted for mandatory faculty-led review sessions or mandatory faculty-student meetings. Out-of-class student work includes student work required to complete traditional reading assignments, writing and/or research assignments, group problems, and/or any non-traditional out-of-class assigned student work, as well as the hours of student work required to prepare adequately for classes and examinations (monitored or take-home) and to complete take-home examinations.  Both direct faculty instruction or classroom time and out-of-class student work are determined in the aggregate over a semester or term. 

Effective as of July 1, 2023, for each type of coursework for which the Law School grants credit toward a degree, the requirements specified below will apply:

 

The full-time Law Faculty, upon the recommendation of the Curriculum Committee, establishes the number of credit hours allotted for each course. To assess whether a course proposal meets these requirements, the Curriculum Committee normally looks at the number of credit hours suggested in the course proposal and reviews the course syllabus, reading assignments, and assessments to determine compliance with the accreditation requirements for instruction time and out-of-class preparation time. If it appears the contact hours or out-of-class preparation time may be insufficient, the Curriculum Committee will request that the course proposal or syllabus be modified to comply with the applicable standards prior to approval.

 

The Associate Dean for Academic Affairs is responsible for monitoring this policy to ensure consistency and compliance with ABA accreditation standards. Jacksonville University College of Law will not offer a course that does not meet the minimum minutes of instruction per credit hour or does not involve the appropriate combination of in-class instruction, direct faculty instruction, and out-of-class student work as required by ABA Standard 310.

 

The Associate Dean will schedule regular class periods to ensure a minimum of 750 minutes of direct instruction per credit hour. To the extent that this schedule is disrupted, resulting in fewer than 750 minutes of direct instruction, the faculty member must schedule at least one of the following outside of regularly scheduled class periods to account for the deficit: (1) a monitored exam; (2) a mandatory faculty-led review session; (3) mandatory faculty-student meetings; or (4) other similar mandator session involving direct instruction.

 

Fall and Spring Semester Courses

A 3-credit course will ordinarily meet for 180 minutes each week for a total of 2,250 minutes of direct instruction over 12.5 weeks, followed by an examination period. Students are expected to spend a minimum of 7.5 hours on out-of-class work per week during the semester, plus an additional 6 hours or more on end-of-semester exams or other assessments.

 

Summer Term Courses

A 3-credit course will ordinarily meet for 360 minutes each week for a total of 2,520 minutes of direct instruction over 7 weeks, followed by an examination period. Students are expected to spend 90 hours on out-of-class work during the term.

 

Seminar (Paper) Courses

Seminar courses, with the consent of and after consultation with the Associate Dean, may be scheduled in a way that results in fewer than 750 minutes of classroom time, but no fewer than 42.5 hours of combined in-class and out-of-class work, consistent with ABA Standard 310, in recognition of the additional time allocation for preparation of a substantial paper.

 

Externships, Co-Curricular Activities, and Directed Research

For externships, co-curricular work (e.g., law review), and directed research, a credit hour shall be defined as an appropriate combination of in-class instruction, direct faculty instruction, and out-of-class student work equivalent to a minimum of 45 total hours, consistent with ABA Standard 310.

 

B. Work Associated with Earned Credit Hours

(1)  College of Law Faculty, in accordance with the ABA standards, design courses that reflect at least 45 total hours of work per credit hour, which may be attained through any of the following, alone or in combination:

 

  • Direct faculty instruction in class, mandatory office hours, exercises, practices, rehearsals, or supervision of field placement or clinic work;
  • Reading;
  • Preparing and revising notes, class outlines, and related materials;
  • Observing taped materials, podcasts, or live events;
  • Preparing for, performing, and reviewing exercises, simulations, competitions, field placement and clinic work, and other assignments;
  • Researching, drafting, and editing writings;
  • Reviewing others’ work (as allowed by class policies);
  • Contributing to discussions both orally and in writing;
  • Preparing for, taking, and reviewing performances on quizzes, midterms, exams, and other assessments; and
  • All other academic activity.

Faculty are responsible for ensuring that experiential learning and all other academic work leading to the award of credit hours reflect at least 45 total hours of work per credit hour.

 

(2) In all required courses, faculty will provide formative and summative assessments appropriate to the course; all first-year doctrinal courses shall include a final examination conducted during the scheduled final exam period for the term in which the course is scheduled.

 

C. Documentation of Course Credit Requirements

 

Course syllabi will demonstrate compliance with this policy and will be on file with the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. Faculty are encouraged to include on their syllabi the expected number of hours of out of class work required for the course. Documents establishing compliance with this policy will be maintained on file with the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs for seven years.

Proposals for new courses will not be approved by the College of Law Curriculum Committee without an assurance the new course will comply with the definition of a credit hour. Non-course credit work will require submission of an assurance detailing compliance with this policy.