Unit System of the US College
April 14th, 2008“Credits” or “units” are actually college courses, which are assigned a value. Usually the amount of units available for a course is correspondent to the total number of hours that one will attend class during a certain course.
For instance, a course that is divided into three class sessions each week, and where every class session lasts not less than fifty minutes, will be marked apprised
in the amount of three units.
Generally, colleges require their students to gain at least a minimum quantity of units so that they were able to graduate, instead of taking a minimum quantity of courses. It gives young people more flexibility in the number and type of courses they want to take in order to meet their graduation requirements. Most higher education establishments use either a quarter-based schedule plan or a semester-based one. In the first case, the studious year is split into three sessions, which are usually called quarters.
Each quarter lasts for almost 12 weeks. There can sometimes be (and very often is) an extra quarter during the summer time. At this period registration is optional. International students are not obligatory to attend courses during summer period to uphold their status. In conditions of the semester system each academic year is normally divided into two terms or sessions which are called semesters. Each semester lasts for about sixteen weeks. This system offers an optional summer session as well.
Those students who have applied for at least twelve units per session (it doesn’t matter weather it is a quarter or a semester), are told to be “permanent” students. Those individuals who have chosen to do their studies for less than twelve units per session will be considered “part-time” students. International students must uphold a “full-time course consignment”. Differently saying, they should always reapply for at least twelve units, so that they could keep their visa status.