Effective September 1, 2014, superseding previous legislation.

1. Any proposal for an increase of 2 or more credits to an existing course, or 1 or more credits in the case of an existing experimental course, will follow the standard process for the approval of a new course. 
2. A proposal for an increase of 1 credit to an existing course will be reviewed according to the following procedure, which constitutes a modified version of the former “minor course change” process:” 
   1. The proposer will submit a proposal using the Course and Curriculum Management System for the increase of 1 credit; the proposal will require the approval of the department head, the dean of the school or college, dean of the Graduate School (for courses numbered 500-999), the Secretary of the Faculty Senate (following the review of any pertinent councils and/or committees), and the Provost (or a designee). 
   2. Upon receipt in the Faculty Senate office, a proposal for an increase of 1 credit to an existing undergraduate course will be assigned to the Course Subcommittee of the Academic Matters Council for review and recommendation; at the discretion of the Secretary of the Faculty Senate or Provost (or designee), a proposal for an increase of 1 credit to an existing graduate course may (or may not) be assigned referred to the Graduate Council for review and recommendation. 
   3. Upon recommendation by the Course Subcommittee of the Academic Matters Council, a proposal for an increase of 1 credit to an existing undergraduate course may then be implemented by subsequent approvals of the Secretary of the Faculty Senate and the Provost (or designee). Upon recommendation by the Graduate Council, if requested, a proposal for an increase of 1 credit to an existing graduate course may be implemented by subsequent approvals of the Secretary of the Faculty Senate and the Provost (or designee). These final signatories may approve the proposed increase in credit to an existing course or else disapprove it and require that a full new course proposal be submitted.

Standards to be Observed in Proposals for Increasing the Number of Credits for a Course 

Proposers should address (and approvers should evaluate) the following: 

1. The current nationally recognized standard, the Federal Credit Hour Standard, defines a three-credit course as three fifty-minute classes per week over a fifteen-week semester (including final exam week), or the equivalent (for courses using a non-traditional format such as blended or online learning). This standard assumes that each credit hour generates two hours of assigned work for every hour of in-class contact. Thus, the guiding rule is 45 hours of work per semester for each unit of credit. For laboratory courses or their equivalent, one credit hour is assigned for three hours of laboratory, workshop, studio, fieldwork, independent study, etc. The current applicable interpretation of the Federal Credit Hour Standard may be found in the latest edition of the “Policy on Credits and Degrees” of the New England Commission of Higher Education. 
2. The number of credits assigned to a course reflects the relative weight of that course towards the fulfillment of appropriate academic credentials—degree, diploma, certificate, major, minor, concentration or other program. Increasing the number of credits assigned to a course implies that the course should have a higher weight within the total number of credits required for a specific academic credential (degree, diploma, certificate, major, minor, concentration or other program requirements). 
3. Approval procedures for considering a course credit change up to one credit should take into account whether the course: 
   1. is designed for a certain degree program, as required or elective, but is not required by other majors; 
   2. Is designed for a certain major, as required or elective, but is also part of the requirements for other academic credentials—degree, diploma, certificate, major, minor, concentration or other program requirements; 
   3. carries a General Education designation. 
4. In all cases, proposals for increasing the number of credits for a course should address the following questions: 
   1. What is the purpose of these changes? Does the proposed change respond to a compelling need?
   2. Are the expectations for students’ engagement and performance increased proportionately to the increase in credits? 
   3. How will the additional work be evaluated and what will be the criteria for assessment? If the increase is in on-task time outside the classroom, how will it be accounted for and assessed? 
   4. What is the estimated workload in total hours of the current version of the course, including time spent in class? 
   5. Does the additional work represent 3 hours of work per week per credit hour over the length of the semester? (Requests for changing the number of credits without changing the workload need to provide a compelling rationale that the total workload is at least 180 hours for a four credit course.) 
   6. What specific changes in the current syllabus are proposed (lectures, online projects, lab/discussion/supervised activity in class, lab or studio, or a combination thereof) to reflect the proposed increase in credit? 

The latest edition of the “Policy on Credits and Degrees” of the New England Commission of Higher Education is currently available at: https://www.neche.org/

Implementation 

1. When a change in credits for a course has received final approval, the sponsoring department should communicate the change broadly to other departments and majors that have the course listed as a requirement or as an approved elective. 
2. After students have enrolled in a course, a change in credit is not allowed, so the change can only be implemented for the following semester. In order to have a change in credit take effect in the Fall semester, final approval must have been received prior to the previous Spring Pre-Registration period; in order to have a change in credit take effect for the Spring semester, final approval must have been received prior to the previous Fall Pre-Registration period.

Source: Sen. Doc. No. 15-001A