Zero Credit Hour Courses

Policy

The University shall assume students will earn one or more credits for any course listed in the University’s undergraduate academic catalog. The specific amount of credit earned shall be assigned in accordance with the University’s Academic Credit Definition policy. Credits are assigned to courses based on the belief that students should be rewarded for academic work that they complete and influenced by the recognition that faculty and other University resources are utilized to offer its courses. Zero credit courses are appropriate in academic settings where students are participating in coursework that is largely self-directed, or activities that that may be repeatable as part of a co-curricular experience. Similarly, variable zero-to-one credit courses may be appropriate for co-curricular campus experiences. Student enrollment will be determined additionally by the individual courses taken as well as over-all credits.

Undergraduate Course Requirements

A zero-credit undergraduate course may be approved through the curriculum approval process if some the following conditions are met:

• The course is largely independent study or practical experience and does not meet as a class on a regular basis, or the course is a focused area of study, practical experience, or creative expression in a particular d
• The course has designated student learning outcomes
• The course is not offered as a credit-bearing course
• The course requires minimal faculty involvement and minimal use of other university resources (e.g., equipment or library resources)
• Grading is accomplished with minimal assessment.

An undergraduate zero-credit course proposal must (1) justify the unique nature of the course to account for a student earning no credit; (2) justify why earning zero credits is appropriate within the University policy on academic credit; (3) demonstrate how utilization of university resources is nominal; and (4) present a plan for inclusion of faculty time associated with the course in the allocation of faculty workload within the respective department or college.

Implementation

This policy shall be effective with undergraduate courses approved on or after January 1, 2022.

Procedure

n/a

Rationale

n/a