The button below will launch a course workload estimator, which can be used by members of the faculty to determine the anticipated time commitment for students participating in a given class.
Please keep in mind that the most quantifiable approach to course planning, as outlined by the U.S. Department of Education, reasonably approximates to not less than one hour of class and two hours of out-of-class student work per week over the course of a standard 15-week semester. In the case of a 3-credit course, for example, the required time commitment equates to a minimum of 45 hours of instructor-led academic engagement and 90 hours of independent student academic preparation. This guideline has also been adopted by NECHE, Vermont State University’s accreditation body. The VTSU Undergraduate Credit Hours & Faculty-Student Engagement Policy provides additional information and examples of the hours required for academic engagement and academic preparation.
The course workload estimator can be used to calculate the number of hours may reasonable spend completing academic work: reading, writing, viewing videos and podcasts, engaging with discussion posts, taking exams, completing assignments, and participating in class meetings. It can be easy for a university instructor to under-estimate the time it takes for students to complete a task. Additionally, some faculty may be too cautious about assigning students an unreasonable workload and inadvertently set expectations too low for students. Using a workload estimator can assist with creating an appropriately challenging yet reasonable student experience.