What is a credit or credit hour?

A unit that a college uses to show that you have completed and passed the courses that you need to finish a degree. Each college decides how many and what type of credits a student needs to finish a degree (although there is often a minimum number from state requirements).

Every course is given a particular number of “credits,” “credit hours,” or “units.” Traditionally 1 credit hour means 1 hour-long class meeting each week.

The most common course type is the 3-credit course, with either 3 50-minute sessions or 2 80-minute sessions each week of the academic term.

There is also an assumption that students will spend about 2 hours on homework for every 1 hour in the classroom.