Online Course Rigor
Academic rigor remains a critical component of online course design. Although online courses may not include traditional in-class meeting time, they should provide equivalent learning experiences through readings, activities, discussions, and assessments. Considering how students spend their time engaging with course materials helps ensure that online courses maintain appropriate rigor and meet university credit hour expectations.
How much time should students spend working on class materials?
Each unit of credit hours requires a minimum number of contact hours based on the type of course. In addition, students are typically expected to spend approximately twice the amount of time on coursework outside of the classroom.
Course Rigor = required minimum contact hours + expected hours of outside coursework.
KSU Curriculum Services provides a complete breakdown of (total required minutes per credit hour) based on the type of course and scheduled duration, and the expectations for coursework outside of class.
The credit-to-contact hour ratio for a 1 credit hour LECTURE course is calculated as follows:
- 1 credit hour = 15 nominal hours of class time = 750 required contact minutes per term.
- 750 minutes x 2 = 1,500 expected minutes of outside coursework per term.
- 750 + 1,500 = 2,250 total minutes of contact and outside coursework per term.
- 2,250/60 = 37.5 total hours of contact and outside coursework per term.
To calculate the credit-to-contact ratio by week, divide the total number of minutes by the number of weeks in the scheduled duration during the term:
- 1 credit hour = 750 minutes/15 wks. = 50 required contact minutes per week.
- 1,500 minutes/15 wks. = 100 minutes expected outside coursework per week.
- 1 credit hour = 150 total minutes of contact and outside coursework per week.
- 150/60 = 2.5 total hours of contact and outside coursework per week.
Examples of 3 credit-hour lecture course credit-to-contact ratios by term duration.
Credit Hours | Duration | Required Contact | Outside Coursework | ~Total per Week |
3 | 15-week course | 150 min | 300 min | 450 min = 7.5 hrs |
3 | 8-week course | 281 min | 562 min | 843 min = 14 hrs |
3 | 7-week course | 321 min | 642 min | 963 min = 16 hrs |
3 | 5-week course | 450 min | 900 min | 1350 min = 22.5 hrs |
3 | 3-week course | 750 min | 1500 min | 2250 min = 37.5 hrs |
Lab and Studio course credit-to-contact ratios are calculated differently. For courses with a 1:2 credit-to-contact ratio, students will spend twice as much time on coursework outside the classroom. And for courses with a credit-to-contact ratio of 1:3, there will be no additional coursework outside the classroom.
Credit Hours | Duration | Required Contact | Outside Coursework | ~Total per Week |
1 | 15-week 1:2 | 100 min | 200 min | 300 min = 5 hrs |
1 | 15-week 1:3 | 150 min | 0 min | 150 min = 2.5 hrs |
What does this mean for asynchronous (V1) online courses, where there is no 鈥渋n-class鈥 and 鈥渙utside of class鈥 time?
Even though online classes lack physical classrooms, many online activities can be equated with the classroom experience. It鈥檚 easiest to assess online course rigor for fully asynchronous courses by considering the total time students will spend completing the course.
In an online, 3-credit hour, 15-week course, students should spend approximately 450 minutes = 7.5 hours each week on course activities, including interacting with required course learning materials, participating in discussions, completing assignments and assessments, etc.
When calculating course rigor for 100% asynchronous courses:
First, calculate how much time students will spend each week on activities and materials that have 鈥渟et times,鈥 such as watching lectures and/or videos. The estimated time for student note-taking, whether notes are shared with the instructor, might also be included.
Second, review the required reading in the course and calculate the approximate time students will spend reading. As a baseline estimate, an adult reads about 250 words per minute on average. Keep in mind that the number of words per minute will decrease as the material becomes more complex and new to students; they will be reading to understand and working to apply this information in assignments.
Third, estimate the time spent on course communication, including synchronous virtual meetings and asynchronous communication for activities such as office hours, group recitations, assignments, and/or assessment feedback, etc.
Fourth, estimate how much time students will spend on assignments, projects, labs, quizzes, and tests. If possible, include an anonymous survey at the end of each week/module to collect student feedback on how long it took them to complete the assigned work. This information can be extremely valuable for future course revisions.
Although it is tempting for instructors to 鈥渟tuff鈥 an online course with materials and activities that students are required to interact with and complete, the best practice is only to include materials and activities that support and focus learner time on successfully achieving the course learning outcomes. If additional materials or activities are included, they should be clearly labeled as optional or supplemental, so students know what to focus on first.
Note: Per federal regulation 34 C.F.R. 600.2, online courses must include 鈥渞egular and substantive interaction (RSI) between the students and the instructor鈥 that is initiated by the instructor and is scheduled and predictable. It is highly recommended when calculating online course rigor also to mark activities that meet the RSI requirement, that include two of the following: direct instruction; coursework assessment or feedback; information about the course content: group discussion of the course content; or other instructional methods approved by the institution鈥檚 accreditor.