Assignment of Credits, Program Length and Tuition

An institution shall be able to equate its learning experiences with semester or quarter credit hours using practices common to institutions of higher education; to justify the lengths of its programs in comparison to similar programs found in accredited institutions of higher education; and to justify any program-specific tuition in terms of program costs, program length, and program objectives.

Assignment of Credit Hours

An institution’s assignment and award of credit hours shall conform to commonly accepted practices in higher education. An institution seeking, or participating in, Title IV programs, shall demonstrate (1) that it has policies determining the credit hours awarded to courses and programs in keeping with commonly accepted practices in higher education and with any federal definition of the credit hour, as may appear in federal regulations; and (2) that it has procedures that result in an appropriate awarding of institutional credit in conformity with the policies established by the institution.

HLC may sample or use other techniques to review selected institutional programs to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the institution’s assignment of credit.

Policy History

Last Revised or Edited: November 2025, effective September 2026
First Adopted: February 1996, effective September 1996
History:* revised November 2011; revised June 2012 (policies combined, see note); renumbered November 2012 (former policy number 4.0(a)); revised June 2019 (effective September 2019); revised November 2020; edited February 2021; revised November 2025 (effective September 2026)
Notes: Policies combined June 2012: 3.10, 3.10(a), 3.10b), and 3.10(c).

* In the history, “revised” indicates that the HLC Board of Trustees adopted changes to the policy, and “edited” indicates that HLC staff made technical amendments or minor editorial revisions that did not require formal Board approval.