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Credit and Clock Hour Standards

The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education mandates that all classes are expected to meet for sixteen weeks, and no institution, academic department, or individual faculty member is authorized to reduce the number of academic weeks in the standard semester without specific approval of the State Regents.  Those institutions, which reserve the final week of the semester as a testing period shall ensure that all classes meet during the testing period.

The semester-credit-hour is the standard and traditional unit of credit used by the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences in evaluating a student’s educational attainment and progress for all programs except the Doctor of Medicine Program which awards credit on similar clock hour standards.  Following is the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Credit and Clock Hour Definition: 

  1.  One semester-hour of credit is awarded for completion of a course meeting for 800 instructional minutes, (for example, 50 minutes per week for sixteen weeks), exclusive of enrollment, orientation, and schedule breaks.  Organized examination days may be counted as instructional days. 
  2. Laboratory credit is awarded at a rate not to exceed one-half the instructional rate.  One semester-hour of credit is awarded for completion of a laboratory meeting a minimum of 1600 minutes (for example, 100 minutes per week for sixteen weeks).
  3. Instruction offered through a combination of class and laboratory meeting would observe the standards set forth above on a pro rata basis. 
  4. Clinical and internship credit is awarded in compliance with the individual program approved accreditation standards.  List of OU Health Sciences Accreditations.
  5. The College of Medicine clock hour is awarded at the rate one-clock hour equals a minimum of 50 minutes of facilitated instruction time (including independent study activities). This approach is consistent with common medical school practices and is compliant with accreditation standards.
  6. Block or alternative course schedules may occur within the dates set forth for a semester or summer session.  Courses offered during academic terms shorter than a semester will observe the same academic standards involving instructional hours per semester-credit-hour as those courses offered during a standard academic calendar.