Ohio State is in the process of revising websites and program materials to accurately reflect compliance with the law. While this work occurs, language referencing protected class status or other activities prohibited by Ohio Senate Bill 1 may still appear in some places. However, all programs and activities are being administered in compliance with federal and state law.

Definition of a Semester Credit Hour

The Ohio Department of Higher Education guidelines state, “One semester credit hour will be awarded for a minimum of 750 minutes [i.e., 12.5 hours] of formalized instruction that typically requires students to work at out-of-class assignments an average of two hours for every hour of formalized instruction [i.e., 1500 minutes or 25 hours]. The instructor bears the primary responsibility for formalized instruction, which may be delivered in a variety of modes.”  Further, the Department of Higher Education notes that “credit hours may be awarded on a different basis for other types of instructional activities,” but in all cases the foundational assumption is that one semester credit is the equivalent of approximately 2,250 minutes [i.e., 37.5 hours] of coursework, combining formalized instruction with out-of-class work.  For laboratory or studio course work, for example, that requires little or no out-of-class study, the Department of Higher Education states that “One hour of credit shall be awarded for a total of 2,250 minutes [37.5 hours] of instructional time”; for laboratory or studio courses in which “instruction is supplemented by out-of-class assignments which would normally average one hour of out-of-class study preparing for or following-up the [laboratory or studio] experience, then one hour of credit shall be awarded for a total of 1,500 minutes [or 25 hours]” of instructional time. See Appendix 7 of the ASC Operations Manual for credit allocation guidelines for education abroad programs.