Policies

Stanly Community College provides instruction for each curriculum course based on the number of contact hours listed in the North Carolina Community College Combined Course Library (CCL).  Instruction is delivered by a variety of methods, including traditional and online formats, or a combination of both. Students will attend course instruction and participate in outside studies to achieve the student learning outcomes.  For every one hour of instruction, students are to spend a minimum of two hours outside of class reading, studying, completing assignments, and learning independently.

The North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS) restricts the number of hours in curriculum degrees, diplomas, and certificates as follows:

                                                                                    Degree                   Diploma                   Certificate

          Minimum General Education Hours                       15                            6                                 0

          Minimum Major Hours                                            49                           30                               12

          Other Required Hours                                            0-7                          0-4                             0-1

          Total Semester Credit Hours                              64-76                     36-48                         12-18

Labs - 2 or 3 hours per week over 16 weeks equals 1 credit hour.Lab, clinical and work-based learning courses from the CCL convert from credit hours to contact hours per course using a multiplier of 16:

Clinical - 3 to 5 hours per week for 16 weeks equals 1 credit hour.

Work-based Learning - 1 credit hour per 10 hours of work experience.

Academic programs offered online have the same total semester credit hours as the equivalent program offered in a traditional, seated environment or hybrid format and follow the NCCCS guidelines above.  All courses within an academic program contain the same student learning outcomes, content, contact and credit hours regardless of delivery method.