Care, caution and the ‘credit hour’ conversation

By Judith S Eaton. The most recent conversation about ‘credit hour’, a description of time on task required of students in their courses, programmes and degrees, is about how this concept might be tied to student learning outcomes. It is also about the federal financing of higher education and sustaining the role that the credit hour has played in this funding.
Discussion of student learning outcomes – setting expectations of student learning and judging whether expectations are achieved – has, to date, been led by the academy. And discussion of federal funding and the credit hour has been led by government officials, and focuses on what will be financed and how. Care and caution are essential as we proceed with both the student learning discussion and the federal financing discussion. Read more...