Calculation of Academic Credit Hours for Courses and Clerkships at Brody School of Medicine

Rationale

The Office of Medical Education assists the Executive Curriculum Committee in central oversight of student academic load, including a curriculum architecture describing the number of contact hours experienced by students in the curriculum. In order to standardize these calculations, and to ensure adherence to accepted curricular standards at the university and national level, the following SOP has been adopted.

Scope

This procedure involves courses and clerkships taken within the BSOM medical curriculum by students.

Definitions

Credit Hours: A standard measure of academic workload allowing comparisons across degree programs at East Carolina University.

Responsibilities

Office of Medical Education

The Office of Medical Education collects and collates student contact hours in each course and clerkship at the beginning of each academic year. OME will use this information to confirm that the credit hours indicated in Banner accurately reflect the workload on the students. Any discrepancies will be brought to the curriculum committees for determination.

Curriculum Committees

Curriculum committees will review the data used to calculate credit hours and approve the final designation of credit hours for each course and clerkship in the curriculum.

Procedures for Implementation

In accordance with the U.S. Department of Education’s regulations and the definition of a Carnegie unit, Brody School of Medicine assigns academic credit hours as a unit of measurement for all courses that appear on the official transcript issued by the University, regardless of the mode of delivery or side of instruction. BSOM awards credit to students who successfully complete required coursework which may include clinical rotations, conferences, labs, research, and study.

In accordance with UNC Policy Manual 400.1.6, 750 contact minutes of lecture (15 hours at 50 minutes/hour) equals one credit hour. This may include required exams, but does not include study days.

Laboratory activities are assigned credit hours based on 1credit hour for 2250 contact minutes (a 3:1 ratio when compared to lectures). Professional schools require learner’s immersion in clinical spaces. The Liaison Committee on Medical Education has in place certain standards which require careful evaluation of students in all aspects of medical education. BSOM abides by such standards, and follows longstanding practices at medical schools nationwide in which one credit hour is assigned to each week (40 contact hours) of a clinical rotation.

For example:
6 weeks in the pediatrics rotation equals 6 credit hours.
8 weeks in the clinical surgery rotation equals 8 credit hours.

Related Policies

Curriculum architecture

Applicable Laws, Regulations & Standards

Southern Association for Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, Principles of Accreditation
UNC policy manual 400.1.6
ECU faculty manual, part VI, section VII

Appendix

2022-2023 Credit hour counts. 15 student contact hours was used as the basis for 1
credit hour. For clinical sessions, 40 hours (1 week) = 1 credit hour. For lab sessions, 45 hours = 1 credit hour.

M1 year

M2 Year

M3 Year

M4 Year

Total MD Degree Credit Hours: 192 Credit Hours