Hours of Instructional Activity
Too Much or Not Enough:
How much time are your students spending on your course and why does it matter?
All courses at Penn State have the same credit hour requirements, regardless of their format. For students to be eligible for PHEAA Pennsylvania State Grants, at least 50% of their credits must be spent on classroom instruction. With a significant amount of learning time spent outside of the classroom, it can be hard to estimate whether your course is meeting or exceeding these hours.
Key Information
What are Hours of Instructional Activity?
Hours of instructional activity refer to the time students are actively engaged in learning. This is broken up into two main categories, as defined by University Senate Policy 42-23:
How Many Hours are Required?
University Senate Policy 42-23 states that the typical distribution of student learning time is about one-third instruction time (EIA) and two-thirds independent learning time (ELA). To calculate this for your course, multiple the number of credits according to the following:
How Can They Be Calculated?
The tools below offer various ways of calculating or estimating the hours of learning activity in your courses, depending on how specific or generalized you wish to be.
The Hours of Instructional Activity Estimator
This app is a quick and easy way to see how hours are distributed across types of activities throughout the entire course. Users can choose to view results in semester view or week view, allowing for a more generalized or granular look at learning time. Reports can then be printed out and shared with others, including students.
Hours of Instructional Activity Spreadsheets
These basic and detailed spreadsheets offer a more granular look at the learning time in a course, allowing for it to be calculated based on weekly planned activities and work. In addition to the blank template for each version, there are example versions as applied to specific courses.
Additional Resources
Too Much or Not Enough: Quantifying the Time Students Spend in Engaging Courses
This session, held as part of the Engaging Students Series, focuses on the benefits of and strategies for reviewing the time spent on instructional activities. It covers the tools for calculation and estimation provided here, as well as tips and reasons why discussing the rigor of a course with students can benefit them.
In-Depth Guide to Hours of Instructional Activity at Penn State
This guide goes over the details, reasons, and research behind the importance and use of hours of instructional activity at Penn State. The information here was used in creating the web app and spreadsheet tools.