Clarkson College follows the Federal Regulation 34 CFR 600.2 definition of a credit hour, §668.8: §668.9.

Our academic programs follow a semester calendar and for the total number of hours, a minimum of 2 hours per week/per credit of student study time is added to the theory contact hour definition as defined below. 

Procedure:

The Clarkson College contact definition for both online and on-campus courses is as follows:

Credit to contact hour conversions for all theory courses: One credit hour equals 15 contact hours per semester, plus 30 hours of study time.

Examples:           

• GEN 105 Medical Terminology = 1 credit hour = 45 contact hours per semester
• EN 101 English Comp I = 3 credit hours = 135 contact hours per semester

Credit to contact hour conversions for courses with a lab component:

General Education & Physical Therapist Assistant Program Courses: One credit hour from the total credit hours listed for the course sections are for lab time and equal 45 contact hours.

Examples:   

• BI 211 Human Anatomy theory = 4 credit hours = 135 theory contact hours (3 credits) and 45 contact hours of lab (1 credit) per semester.
• BI 211 Human Anatomy lab = 0 credit hours

Radiography Program Courses: One credit equals 15 contact hours per semester, with the exception of RT Procedures labs in which 1 credit hour equals 30 contact hours per semester.

Examples:

• RT 120L Exposures I lab = 1 credit hour = 15 hours of contact per semester
• RT 110L Procedures I lab = 1 credit hour = 30 hours of contact per semester

Nurse Anesthesia Courses: One credit hour equals 15 contact hours per semester.

Example: AN 872L Principles of Anesthesia I Lab = 1 credit hour = 15 contact hours per semester

Credit to contact hour conversions for clinical/internship/externship rotations dependent on the program:

Physical Therapist Assistant Program Clinical Courses: One credit hour equals 40 clinical hours per week.

Example: PTA 240 Clinical Practicum III = 5 credit hours = 200 clinical hours

Undergraduate Nursing Program Clinical Courses: One credit hour equals 3 clinical hours per week.

Example: NS 126 Basic Nursing Skills Clinical = 2 credits = 90 clinical hours

Graduate Nurse Education, Graduate Nursing Administration, & Health Care Business Professional Practice Experience (PPE) and Internship Courses: One credit hour equals 45 clinical hours.

Example: HM 368 Professional Practice I = 2 credit hours = 90 clinical hours

Radiography Program Clinical Courses: One credit hour equals 56 clinical hours.

Example: RT 265 Clinical Experience I = 4 credit hours = 224 clinical hours

Medical Imaging Program Clinical Courses: One credit hour equals 60 clinical hours.

Example: MI385 CT Externship = 3 credits = minimum of 180 contact hours

Community Health Fieldwork Course: One credit hour equals 45 fieldwork hours.

Example: CHL 410 Fieldwork = 3 credit hours = 135 fieldwork hours

Nurse Practitioner Clinical Hours: Zero credit hours are dedicated to clinical hours; however, a minimum of 750 clock hours are required for the MSN and BSN-DNP programs.

Nurse Anesthesia Program Clinical Courses: Twelve (12) credit hours are dedicated to clinical practicum hours with a minimum of 2,000 hours required for the program. Clinical hours never exceed 64 hours per week, averaged over four weeks.

Doctor of Nursing Hours: Zero credit hours are dedicated to DNP hours. A minimum of 350 professional practice hours are required for the program. Nurse Anesthesia students are required to accrue a minimum of 125 professional practice hours. All DNP students must complete a minimum of 1,100 professional practice hours (DNP Hours) to be eligible for graduation.