Clarifying student workload is useful, but it is especially helpful when designing online or virtual learning. It contributes to a balanced workload throughout the course, helps students manage their time, and contributes to meeting accreditation standards. Based on national guidelines, Northwestern defines 1 credit to be 2100 minutes of work, including both in-class and out-of-class time. This is commonly referred to as 2 hours of work out-of-class for every 1 hour of work in-class. The Online Learning Office has developed our Credit Hour Calculator to measure student workload when most, if not all, activities occur in an online or virtual environment. The video below will further explain student workload and using the Credit Hour Calculator, which can be found at the bottom of this page. Click on the video to play.

Other Resources

Rice University's Credit Workload Estimator

Files

If you have any questions about measuring student workload or the Credit Hour Calculator, please contact the Online Learning Office (olo@unwsp.edu).