<p>I don't quite understand why classes at some schools are 4 credits (mostly LAC) and some are 3 credits. Say you need 128/129 credits to graduate for a 4 year degree, won't the students whose school offers 3 credits classes graduate with taking more classes (43) vs. school offers 4 credit classes (32)? So, the student who goes to the 3 credit class college will end up learning more because of taking more classes as a result? And their workload for each semester is heavier?</p>
<p>As long as one graduates, I guess no one cares how many classes one has taken. It's a dumb question, I know.</p>
<p>Many science classes at a LAC that are four hours includes a lab section, where at big state U the lab sections are separate. Many times a 4 hour class goes into more detail and covers more material, so in your major, you get the same 12 hours of a subject with 3 classes of 4 instead of 4 classes of three, so it ends up being a wash.</p>
<p>The State Us I am familiar with (all 2 of them) the Science classes with labs are 4 credit hours. I had always assumed it was they same everywhere. Generally the class meets 2 or 3 times a week depending on whether it is a m/w/f/ or t/th class (longer session for t/th) and also meets an additional and longer period for lab. If the class is one of the large classes then the labs will be split into smaller groups. Also some foreign Language classes can be 4 or even 5 credits (at some schools) because they meet 4 or 5 times a week.</p>
<p>The number of credit hours is based on how much time is spent in class - more class work and meet for longer is more credit hours. At schools that charge by the credit hour you are also charged more fora 4 credit hour class than for a 3 credit class. My daughter is a science major so a lot of her classes are 4 hour classes. </p>
<p>I believe for the colleges in our state (might be just for Public, not sure) the rules for credit hours and how many classroom hours they require are set by the state regents for higher education.</p>
<p>My H teaches at a college that went to the 4 credit system. Classes now meet twice a week for 1 hr. 40 minutes. Rarely are classes held the full time (except for his, and then students complain) Or if it is a summer class, they meet twice a week for 4 hours/day for 6 weeks. We have a friend who took two of those summer classes and they never held class for more than 2 hours, many times it was less. Now this is a lower level college than many here on CC and maybe it is different at the more highly ranked schools. But in our experience, we much prefer the 3 credit system. The 4 credit system seemed to be implemented to move students through faster. H has other issues with it too.</p>
<p>It varies. My daughter is taking a FIVE credit course this summer. She really only needs three credits so we get the pleasure of paying for those extra two credits! </p>
<p>My kid has taken humanities courses that were four credits and science courses that were threeâŠand vice versa. It often depends on how often the course meets per weekâŠexcept for music majors who take a ton of ONE credit courses that meet five hours a week.</p>
<p>youre correct that a student at the âfour creditâ school will take fewer classes. however, it does not follow that he or she will necessarily learn less having taken fewer classes.</p>
<p>to expand on sunnyfloridas lab science exampleâŠ</p>
<p>one school with which i am familiar offers introductory economics as a single, 4 credit course. at the nearby major research university, introductory economics is offered as two 3 credit courses. the primary material covered is nearly identical.</p>
<p>in one upper-level math class, six chapters of a popular textbook are covered at a 'four credit school. a professor i know recently taught the same course from the same book at a major research university. he covered three chapters in their entirety and a bit of a fourth.</p>
<p>âŠand the list could go on.</p>
<p>of course, things dont always work in the âfour creditâ schools favor. i took a fairly pedestrian 4 credit intermediate microeconomics class at my alma mater. it wasnt bad, but i doubt it was much different than the typical course offered for 3 credits at similar schools.</p>
<p>The other thing to consider if if the school is on semesters, quarters or trimestersâŠthe number of ârequired hoursâ for graduation varies because of that factor too.</p>
<p>The number of credit hours required for different degrees also varies at the schools I am familiar with, so having some 4 hour credit classes may not necessarily get you through any quicker. For instance science degrees require more credit hours to complete than English degrees. And architecture requires a lot more.</p>
<p>I think the move to go from 3 to 4 credits may have had financial considerations. It appears to me that many of the State colleges in NJ made the change at the same time they were hit with financial restraints.</p>
<p>Am I the only one who goes to a college with variable credits by course? Iâve taken 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 credit courses, each meeting for the resquite number of hours a week. The 5 credit courses here are typically language course or chem/physics, the 4 credit courses math or bio, the three credit courses are most common, and the one or two credit courses were generally small courses (e.g., âIntro to Honors,â âTraining in Instructionâ).</p>
<p>No you are not the only one. Next semester my daughter has a mix of 3 and 4 hour classes. The 4 hour classes are mostly science classes with labs. She took American sign language last year and it was a 5 hour class. There are also 1 and 2 hour classes at her school and also some variable credit hour classes (usually upper level classes where the class is set up between you and the instructor and the credit hours are based on how many hours work will be involved, usually 1-3 credits).</p>
<p>Most engineering classes at Michigan are 4 credits, along with a lot of the intro level classes. A lot of intro science classes are 5 credits with the lab (4 credits for the class, then 1 more for the lab, or 3 credits for the class, 2 for the lab, depends on the class). I think languages are also sometimes 5 credits. I think thereâs also an 8 credit class offered sometimes (like an intensive language, 1 year of language in 1 semester). </p>
<p>Michigan has 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 credit classes, also 1.5 credit and I think Iâve seen 2.25 credit classes, which meet for only half of the term.</p>
<p>Generally it would be expected that a 4 credit class should be 33% more work than a 3 credit class. The person who takes all 3 credit classes probably doesnât necessarily learn more, since less is covered in those classes. They just take more classes.</p>
<p>I think all the classes at my daughterâs school are 5 creditsâŠsheâs on the quarter system and takes three classes per quarter, 45 credits per year. 180 are required for graduation.</p>
<p>At UChicago each course, no mater how often it meets, is worth 1 credit. S1 had a course that met 11 hours per week, still 1 credit. For another, the prof sent out a note saying there wasnât enough time scheduled so he added a Sunday night class, still 1 credit. Its 42 to graduate (quarter system). So to graduate in 4 years without summer courses, one has to take the equivalent of 2 years of 3 courses a quarter and two years of 4 courses a quarter. Taking 5 requires special permission. So one can take 4 every quarter and graduate early or take 3 and graduate later, the school doesnât care (it makes more money for the later, however, since it is the same price for 3 or 4 courses), and has a graduation ceremony every quarter including summer.</p>
<p>i go to northeastern university, and maybe itâs just my major (i donât think so), but all my courses are four credits. i always find that a bit unfair, because i know my friends at other colleges have to take five courses a semester, while i always have four. my classes are a little bit longer than theirs, but not by a lot. iâm in each class for around 3 hours and 15 minutes each week.</p>