Educational Standards in Credit Courses and Programs – Policy ED(24) 8-0

Please see www.cariboo.bc.ca/policy/index.html for the latest policy and regulations.

Policy

1. General

   Curriculum content and educational standards are established for all credit courses, and students receive a final grade based on their performance, determined according to the grading policy defined below (unless they have registered as an audit student).

   Students are issued transcripts to document their achievement in credit courses. On successful completion of a program, students may apply for a certificate, diploma, Associate Degree, or degree.

   A Certificate will be awarded for the successful completion of a program less than or equal to 30 credits of study, or equivalent. A Diploma will be awarded for the successful completion of a program of 31 - 119 credits of study. An Associate Degree will be awarded for the successful completion of a program which is equal to or greater than 60 credits of study. A Degree will be awarded for the successful completion of a program which is equal to or greater than 120 credits of study. Post-Baccalaureate Certificates will be awarded for the successful completion of a degree and up to 30 additional credits of study. A Post-Baccalaureate Diploma will be awarded for the successful completion of a degree plus 31 credits or more of study.

   To be eligible for a certificate or diploma, a student must normally complete all courses within a period of five years.

   The criteria for the awarding of certificates and diplomas are subject to the approval of the Vice-President, Academic, following advice from Education Council.

   When these criteria change, the criteria which apply to a particular student shall be either:

   1. in open-entry programs, the criteria in effect at the time the student applies for the certificate, diploma, or associate degree, (a student may not apply for a certificate or diploma unless at least one required course has been completed within the academic year prior to application. A student may not apply for an associate degree unless at least 50% of the credits have been completed within the five years prior to application); or
   2. in limited-entry programs, the criteria in effect at the commencement of each year of the program which the student completes.
2. Trading Diplomas for Associate Degrees

   Students may trade previously awarded diplomas for Associate Degrees, provided that the diplomas meet all requirements for the Associate Degrees, including the requirement that at least 50% of the semester credits have been completed within the five years prior to application to trade. It may be necessary for students to supplement their diploma with additional credits to enable them to trade. Students cannot hold two credentials for the same work.

3. Transfer of Credit Between Programs

   A student entering a University College of the Cariboo (UCC) program with previous educational experience may be awarded transfer credit or exemption for up to 50% of the program's requirements, upon approval of the relevant department chairperson or Dean. In some programs, smaller transfer or exemption limits may apply.

4. Recognition of Credit Between UCC Programs

   The B.C. Council on Admissions and Transfer recognizes that "effective learning can occur under a variety of arrangements and conditions" (Guidelines #2, B.C. Transfer Guide, 1999-2000). In the interest of access and mobility for students, UCC encourages the recognition of credit for courses taught in programs throughout the institution. Within existing requirements relating to such concerns as entrance standards, distribution of courses, or specific course prerequisites, programs are, therefore, encouraged to consider granting credits for courses that may have been previously denied that consideration.

   Toward a review of potential credit standing in all programs, UCC will follow the guidelines below:

   1. Comparison of course curriculum forms the basis for considering credit recognition at UCC.
   2. Courses accepted by any two B.C. public universities and/or university colleges or institutes should be accepted by equivalent UCC programs. However, UCC may accept courses recognized by only one of these institutions.
   3. Credit should be given for courses with an 80% match in content and similar entrance requirements.
   4. The student should have received a grade of C or better in the course within the last 5 years.
5. Program Capacities and Section Sizes

   Program capacities and maximum course section sizes shall be determined by the Vice-President, Academic, in consultation with the relevant department, in order to help maintain appropriate educational standards.

6. Course Vectoring and Scheduling

   Semester-based courses shall be assigned vectoring by the Vice-President, Academic, in consultation with the relevant department and Education Council. The vectoring will specify the weekly hours of lecture, seminar and laboratory instruction. The vectoring will be designed to help maintain appropriate educational standards.

   The schedule of semester-based courses for each semester shall be prepared by the Registrar, in consultation with the relevant departments.

7. The Assignment of Credits to Courses

   Credits serve as a form of academic currency in post-secondary institutions. They are designed to measure the duration, breadth and depth of study toward a specific program goal.

   Credits can be transferable between programs at UCC and other post-secondary institutions.

   The purpose of this policy is to provide common standards at UCC for defining the number of credits a course should attract within the context of a specific program of study.

   1. Definition of Credit Course and Non-Credit Course
      1. Credit Course (all of these criteria must be met):
         1. has defined curriculum and standards;
         2. involves summative evaluation of students;
         3. requires that the course and grade results be transcripted;
         4. the course, along with other courses, make up a specific defined program of study, which, when completed, will result in the granting of a certificate, diploma, associate degree or degree;
         5. usually has credits assigned (although not always required).
      2. Non-Credit Course:
         1. any course which does not meet the credit course definition.
   2. Assignment of Course Credits
      1. Main principles:
         1. Multi-semester course credits are assigned as the sum of each semester's credits. Credits for courses of less than one semester duration are assigned using the vectoring that would apply were the actual course contact hours distributed in semesterized format.
         2. All courses must either be vectored (on a per week basis) or have the total contact hours indicated in the calendar. When the total contact hour method is chosen, a reasonable breakdown between lectures, seminars, labs and practica should be provided.
         3. A standard semester is 15 weeks long.
         4. Fifteen credits is considered to be a full-time student load and requires a minimum of 15 hours per week of "derived instruction" for 15 weeks in duration for a total of 225 hours per semester.
         5. Most UCC academic courses should equate to three credits in keeping with general practice at other post-secondary institutions.
         6. The perceived difficulty of the course curriculum as compared to other course curriculum at UCC cannot (and should not) be factored into the credit assignment standard.
         7. Credit assignment is based solely on a combination of actual and derived contact hours of instruction.
      2. Definitions:
         1. Lecture: instruction - standard format.
         2. Seminar: subset of lecture instruction - participative format.
         3. Lab: laboratory (hands on activity) instruction with laboratory equipment.
         4. Practica: related work experience, such as: practicum, clinical, shop, fieldwork, etc.
      3. For Vectored Courses:
         1. Credits equate to the following actual and derived instructional contact hours:

            1 hour	=	1 credit
            2 hours	=	2 credits
            3 -5 hours	=	3 credits
            6 - 9 hours	=	4 credits
            10 - 15 hours	=	5 credits

         2. Educational delivery method and actual and derived instructional hours for credit assignment purposes:

            Lectures and Seminars	One actual hour equals one derived instructional hour
            Labs	One actual hour equals one-quarter of a derived instructional hour
            Practica	One actual hour equals one-half of a derived instructional hour

      4. For Non-Vectored (contact hours only) Course:

         Maximum standard contact hours per week equals 30. Note: If the actual hours per week are less than 30, then the actual hours should be used in the formula.

         Formula:

         (½)((30)(weeks of instruction)) 15 weeks

         = credits

         To clarify the calculation of credit assignment to credit courses, see the examples attached hereto as Annex "A".

   3. Credit Assignment to Programs in Determining Appropriate Document
      1. Certificates: less than or equal to 30 credits of study
      2. Diplomas: 31 - 119 credits of study
      3. Degrees: equal to or greater than 120 credits of study
      4. Post-Baccalaureate Certificates: degree and up to 30 additional credits of study
      5. Post-Baccalaureate Diplomas: degree plus 31 credits or more of study
   4. University Partner Agreements

      Credit assignments for courses involved with university partner degree programs are to remain assigned as per each university's credits. Once the partner arrangements are terminated, each course credit assignment must be revised where needed to meet UCC policy.

      Examples of Credit Assignment to Credit Courses

      Course	Actual Hours/Week		Derived Hours
      BIOL 310 (3,2,0)	Lec Sem	3 2	3 2
      			5 = 3 credits
      CHEM 415 (0,0,8)	Lab	8	2 = 2 credits
      COMP 223 (3,2,0)	Lec Sem	3 2	3 2
      			5 = 3 credits
      ENGL 110 (4,0,0)	Lec	4	4 = 3 credits
      FINA 284 (1,1,2)	Lec Sem Prac	1 1 2	1 1 1
      			3 = 3 credits
      COOK 100 (52 weeks long)	Shop	30	(1/2)((30)(52)) 15 = 52 credits for entire program
      ENGL 380-6 (3,0,0)(3,0,0)	Semester 1 Semester 2 Crs Total	Lec 3 Lec 3	3 credits 3 credits 6 credits

      Note: Once the total program credits are derived using the formula, the credits are to be distributed in proportion to the contact hours of each course. Any partial credit should be rounded to the nearest whole credit.

8. Course Outlines

   Course outlines are a contract between UCC and the Student. The instructor responsible for teaching a credit course will develop a course outline and submit it to the relevant chairperson prior to commencement of instruction. Evaluation of content should be undertaken as per the process described under the Summative Evaluation. Once the course outline is approved, it is the responsibility of the instructor to distribute it at the commencement of the course and to teach the course as described in the outline.

   Because of the diversity of courses and delivery methodologies, course outlines may vary in the amount of detail they may contain, but all shall contain the following:

   1. A masthead identifying The University College of the Cariboo, the department, the semester, the course acronym and number, the instructor, and the instructor's office telephone number and location.
   2. The course title, number and credit assignment (if any).
   3. The vectoring of the course.
   4. The educational objectives of the course.
   5. A list of required texts and materials/activities entailing costs to students.
   6. A brief description of the means (assignments, examinations, tests, quizzes or other forms of student evaluation) by which student performance will be evaluated, and the percentage of the final mark assigned to each evaluation component.
   7. Attendance regulations (if different from the Calendar statement).
   8. A reasonable list of the topics covered in the course. (This may include a detailed list of assigned and recommended readings to be covered.)
   9. Special course activities, e.g. field trips, practicum, work experience.

      In courses which have more than one section, UCC recognizes that individual instructors may choose different means to achieve the same objectives. It is the responsibility of departmental chairpersons to ensure that comparison of curricula, teaching techniques and methods of evaluating students is undertaken on a regular basis so that appropriate differences can be recognized while ensuring that uniform and equitable standards are maintained.

      Once an outline has received final approval from the chairperson, the chairperson shall submit one copy to the Registrar so that a complete file of current course outlines is always on hand. In the event of an academic appeal by a student, the course outline shall be provided to the Appeal Committee by the Registrar.

9. Grading

   In order to achieve uniform standards and comparability across UCC, standard grading systems shall be established. All credit courses shall be graded according to these standards.

10. Prerequisites and Promotion

    Subject to the approval of the Vice-President, Academic, specific grade or grade point average requirements may be set for progression from one course into another, or for promotion from one semester of a program into another.

11. Audit Students

    Students who register to audit a course must satisfy the instructor that they are taking reasonable steps to complete course requirements, although no formal evaluation procedures are required. If in the judgment of the instructor a student is not doing this, a grade of W will be recorded.

    Students must meet with the instructor at the commencement of the course, or prior to a change to Audit status, to agree on what constitutes reasonable steps to complete course requirements.

    Students who wish to change from Credit to Audit status must do so by the end of the second week of the semester.

    Since Audit students do not have to satisfy prerequisites for entry into a particular course, departments that have courses with activities that involve potential safety issues (i.e. clinical, laboratory or experiential activities) have the right to refuse an Audit student's participation in these activities.

12. Deferred Grades

All deferred grades "DEF" which are still on a student's permanent record six weeks after the regular posting of grades will be changed to a "DNC" grade by the Registrar's office, unless the department has made other arrangements.