Credit Hour Policy

Assumption University Credit Hour Policy

Assumption University upholds the Federal Credit Hour Standard in its award of credit. For each hour of credit earned, for both undergraduate and graduate credit, Assumption requires fifty minutes of faculty instruction and two hours of student preparation per week for the fifteen weeks of the semester for a total of 42.5 hours of engagement required per earned credit. A 3-credit course, for example, includes a minimum of 2.5 hours of faculty instruction and 6 hours of student preparation each per week in a 15-week semester. This standard applies to the fall and spring 15-week semesters, and to the accelerated summer terms.  Classes held three times a week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday are 50 minutes long; twice-weekly Tuesday/Thursday classes are 75 minutes in duration. This standard is applied in the awarding of labs, practica, internships for credit, studio work, or other academic work completed as part of an academic program of study.

Transfer Credit Policy

Once a student has matriculated in the undergraduate University, no more than four courses taken at another accredited institution may be used to satisfy degree requirements. This limitation does not apply to study abroad courses or courses taken through the Higher Education Consortium of Central Massachusetts (HECCMA) cross registration program. While the University expects all core courses will be taken at the University, two of the four permitted transfer courses may, with department approval, be counted in the core requirement. Capstone courses must be taken in residence, and other departmental restrictions apply.

To transfer courses and credits taken at another institution into the Assumption University degree, students must identify the course they wish to take and receive written pre-approval from the chair of the department of the proposed course’s discipline. They must earn a grade of C or higher for the course, and order an official transcript be sent to the Office of the Registrar. Grades earned at these institutions are not included in the calculation of the student’s grade point average.