Unit of Credit

The semester hour is the unit of academic credit earned at Quinebaug Valley Community College. One semester hour typically corresponds to a 50-minute (minimum) class meeting plus an additional two hours of work outside of class, or to a two-to three-hour laboratory each week for a traditional semester of 15 weeks. A course yielding three semester hours of credit, therefore, usually requires three 50-minute (or two 75-minute) class meetings plus six hours of preparation outside of class per week. When semesters are shortened, class meetings are lengthened.