Appendix

ABA Standard 310

In 2014, the ABA adopted the federal definition of a credit hour as required by the Department of Education. Pursuant to ABA Standard 310, a credit hour must reasonably approximate “not less than one hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction and two hours of out-of-class student work per 15 weeks, or the equivalent amount of work over a different amount of time.” Academic activities such as field placement, clinical, and co- curricular courses must entail “at least an equivalent amount of work.” For purposes of this Standard, 50 minutes suffices for one hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction. An “hour” for out-of-class student work is 60 minutes. At a minimum, students must complete 42.5 hours for one unit of credit; 85 hours for two units of credit; 127.5 hours for three units of credit; and 170 hours for four (4) units of credit.

PART I: Revised Credit Hour Policy

Credit Hour Requirements

Under the Fowler School of Law’s semester system, one credit hour is granted for 50 minutes of classroom or direct faculty instructional time per week, multiplied by 15, and at least 120 minutes of additional out-of-class student work each week, or an equivalent amount of work for other courses and activities, multiplied by 15. The standard course extends over a 14-week semester, followed by a two-week final examination period.

Courses or other credit-bearing activities that occur over a different time period must incorporate the same total amount of instructional time and additional assigned work per credit hour as a standard course. At a minimum, students must complete 42.5 hours for one unit of credit, 85 hours for two units of credit, 127.5 hours for three units of credit, and 170 hours for four units of credit.

J.D. credit is earned if a student receives a grade of 0.7 or above or a Pass/HiPass grade.

PART II: Determination of Credit Hours

The Fowler School of Law maintains a 14-week semester followed by a two-week exam period. Summer term consists of a seven-week term followed by a one-week exam period. At a minimum, students must complete 42.5 hours for one unit of credit, 85 hours for two units of credit, 127.5 hours for three units of credit, and 170 hours for four units of credit.

• Courses that require a written final exam (in class or take home) are scheduled for 50 minutes per credit hour multiplied by 14, regardless of the length of term. Instructors assign at least 120 minutes per credit hour, multiplied by 15, of out-of-class work for students to complete over the course of the term. All in-class final exams are scheduled for a minimum of 120 minutes and a maximum of 210 minutes. Take home examinations that are scheduled during an exam period shall be scheduled for a minimum of eight hours (480 minutes). Time dedicated to a final examination can count towards the total required hours of instructional time.
• Legal Analysis, Writing, and Research I and II are scheduled for at least 45 minutes of classroom instruction or direct faculty instruction via individual conferences, multiplied by 12, and a minimum of 155 minutes of out-of-class work per credit hour per week, multiplied by 13, including research, completion of drafts of writing projects, and preparation for oral argument. The combined time per credit hour equals at least 42.5 hours of instructional time and student work over the course of the term.
• Courses not requiring a final exam (other than LAWR I & II and clinical courses) are scheduled for 50 minutes per credit hour multiplied by 14. Instructors assign at least 135 minutes per credit hour per week, multiplied by 14, of out-of-class work for students to complete over the course of the term. The combined time per credit hour equals at least 42.5 hours of instructional time and student work over the course of the term.
• Credit for Clinical Courses may be awarded for 50 minutes of classroom or direct faculty instructional time or for 60 minutes of out-of-class student work preparing for and performing clinic work, preparing for class, and completing class assignments or other academic work related to the course assigned by the supervising faculty member. Clinical faculty members can determine the overall number of hours of each type of work required for each unit of credit for their clinical courses, but they must include a classroom component as per ABA Standard 304. At a minimum, students must complete a total of 42.5 hours for one unit of credit, 85 hours for two units of credit, and 127.5 hours for three units of credit.
  • Students enrolled in clinical courses must complete required hours and submit time keeping records in accordance with clinic practices. Credit may be withheld for any student who fails to comply.
• Students may receive credit to the extent allowed by ABA Standards for distance learning courses that are in compliance with ABA Standards. Distance learning courses for which the Fowler School of Law students receive credit, whether offered in synchronous or asynchronous format, or a combination, shall require at least 42.5 hours of instructional time and student work per unit of credit per week over a fifteen- week period.
• Students may receive credit for approved externship placements. To satisfy Standard 310, students must complete at least 42.5 hours of fieldwork for each credit. Students must complete and submit daily time-reporting logs, regular progress reports, and final reports to the field supervisor and Director of Externships, in accordance with established externship policies. Credit may be withheld for any student who fails to comply.
• Students may receive credit for approved competitions. At a minimum, students must complete 85 hours for two units of credit or 127.5 hours for three units of credit. Credit is granted for engaging in practice sessions, preparation alone and with teammates, research, preparing briefs and other material for the competition, and participating in actual competition(s).
• All participants in competitions who seek credit must register for credit through the Competitions course.
• Students seeking such credit shall submit detailed timesheets to the designated supervising faculty member. Credit may be withheld for any student who fails to comply.
• Students may receive credit for serving on approved journals per the Handbook. Students shall submit detailed timesheets to the journal’s Faculty Advisor every two weeks. For each unit of credit, students must complete a minimum of 42.5 hours of journal-related work. Credit may be withheld for any student who fails to comply.
• Students may receive credit for Directed Research for up to three credits. For each unit of credit, students must complete a minimum of 42.5 hours of research and writing work. Students shall submit detailed timesheets to their supervising faculty member every two weeks. Credit may be withheld for any student who fails to comply.

PART III: Procedures for Determination of Hours of Out-of-Class Student Work

• For classes that require attendance in regularly scheduled classroom sessions or direct faculty instruction, course instructors shall require outside student work that reasonably approximates a minimum of 120 minutes per course credit hour per week, multiplied by 15. That outside work may include, but is not limited to: reading assignments, case briefing, written assignments, solving problem sets, participating in out-of-class simulations and role-playing exercises that help students develop lawyering competencies, research assignments, posting to an online discussion board, court or other observations, conferences with the instructor, and other work that assists in comprehension of course content such as outlining and studying for quizzes, midterms and final examinations.
  • Academic literature indicates that a skilled adult reads an average of 5-40 casebook pages per hour, depending on the density of the text, the difficulty of the material (number of new concepts), and the competency expected (to skim, understand or engage).¹ These reading time estimates do not include additional work expected of the student, including but not limited to rereading material for comprehension, briefing cases, additional reading of treatises and course-related material, outlining, practice questions and examinations, CALI exercises, and participation in study groups and review sessions. All expected out-of-classroom work should be considered when measuring the amount of time necessary per credit hour.
  • Readings and other assignments shall be indicated on the course syllabus.
• Initial Review Process: All faculty members are required to fill out the ABA Standard 310 Compliance form for each course and to append it to their syllabi for submission to the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs in the 2017-2018 academic year. Courses not offered in the 2017-2018 academic year will undergo initial review the next time they are offered.
• Periodic Review Process: After the initial review process, all course instructors shall submit their course syllabi consistent with university policy. In so doing, a course instructor certifies that outside work for the course meets the requirements of Standard 310(b)(1).
  • The Associate Dean for Academic Affairs shall keep all course syllabi on file and review them on a regular basis to determine whether assignments of outside work comply with Standard 310(b)(1).

PART IV: New Course Approval Process

All new courses will utilize the New Course Proposal Application form. This form requires proponents to justify the amount of credit requested, including a description of both classroom hours and the estimated out-of-classroom work. The curriculum committee must assess this information when determining how many credit hours should be granted for the course or other academic activity.

Credit Hour Time Requirements

*Not all courses are required to have this amount of “seat time,” but all courses must meet the overall total hours required for credit granted.

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¹ See, e.g., Rice Center for Teaching Excellence Course Load Estimator tool, available at http://cte.rice.edu/workload.