Academic Year and Units of Credits

The academic year is divided into two semester (fall and spring) approximately 16 weeks each, totaling 160 instructional days, and a ten week summer session. Various shortened sessions may be scheduled within the three primary academic terms including four-week, five-week, eight-week, ten-week and mini sessions. Students may enter the University at the beginning of any term although the academic year begins officially with the fall semester.

The unit of credit is known as the semester hour credit,for face-to-face courses, one semester credit hour represents one 50-minute class period (lecture or structured student/faculty interaction) or 2-3 hours of laboratory session for each week of the semester. Three-credit classes normally run 50-minutes on Monday, Wednesday and Friday or 75-minutes on Tuesday and Thursday.

For online or distance courses, Mayville State University’s academic units of credit are assigned according to the classification of the distance course:

• Type 1: Distance course sections taught synchronously with face-to-face sections with equivalent student learning objectives and expectations for student effort – The distance section is assigned the same credit hours as the face-to-face section.
• Type 2: Distance course sections taught asynchronously with face-to-face sections with equivalent student learning objectives and expectations for student effort – The distance section is assigned the same credit hours as the face-to-face section.
• Type 3: Distance courses not classified as Type 1 or 2 that share equivalent student learning objectives and expectations for student effort as face-to-face sections of the course – The distance section is assigned the same credit hours as the face-to-face section.
• Type 4: Distance courses not classified as Type 1 or 2 that do not have corresponding face-to-face sections for comparison – The academic division providing the course must document the expected level of student effort, expected student/faculty interactions, course assessment plan, and student learning objectives for the course. This information will be reviewed by the appropriate academic division, University curriculum committee and Faculty Senate for assignment of appropriate credit hours.