Overview

When planning a course, the amount of work you give students should fall within a specific range (for example, a certain number of hours a week) determined by Boise State University.

How to Calculate Student Workload Per Week

Key definitions

• Clock hours: “the total number of actual hours per week a student spends attending class or other instructional activities” (DHS). This is the total for all of the activities for the course. 

• Credit hours: “the number of credits a student receives for enrolling in (and successfully completing) a given course” (DHS).

Key policies

• Per 1 clock hour, Boise State requires at least “15 Clock Hours of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of 30 Clock Hours of out-of-class student work” or its equivalent (Policy 4080). That makes 45 hours total per credit.

• Boise State’s clock hours are 50-60 minutes (Policy 4080). This creates a range from 37.5 to 45 clock hours per credit hour:

  • 50 min. x 45 = 2250 min. = 37.5 clock hours per credit hour

  • 60 min. x 45 = 2700 min. = 45 clock hours per credit hour 

    • 1 credit course: 37.5 - 45 clock hours

    • 2 credit course: 75 - 90 clock hours

    • 3 credit course: 112.5 - 135 clock hours

Examples

The shorter the course, the more clock hours per week, and vice versa. See the table below for examples of clock hours per week (rounded to the half hour) for courses with different credit hours:

Related Information

• Calculating Total Estimated Reading Time

• Boise State Credit Hours Policy (4080) by Boise State University

• The Difference Between Clock Hours and Credit Hours by Department of Homeland Security

• Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) Credit Hour Policy by NWCCU (pdf)

• Time Management by Boise State University