Units vs Credits????

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by 2001puglover, Apr 26, 2002.

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  1. 2001puglover

    2001puglover New Member

    Hi,

    Now, I don't mean to sound ignorant, but are units and credits the same thing?

    Thanks,
    Donna:)
     
  2. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Yes. They're both in common usage to describe:

    Semester Hours - The number of credits or units awarded for courses on the semester system.

    Quarter Hours - The same, but for those schools on a quarterly calendar.

    There are--or were-schools on a trimester system, but they usually awarded semester or quarter hours.

    The ratio is usually 4 or 4.5 quarter hours to 3 semester hours, depending on who's doing the counting.
     
  3. Jack Tracey

    Jack Tracey New Member

    I was recently visiting the web site of the University of London where a "course" (the American definition) is described as a "unit."
    So, you take ten units and receive your Masters degree, etc. In Australia (I think it's Australia) a "course" refers to an entire course of study, such as a Bachelors degree program. In South Africa there's a slightly different set of definitions for some of the terms, although I understand that they've made some attempts to "universalize" their nomenclature recently. In short, the definition of the word depends on who is using it. Within the USA I believe there is much consistency, but once you cross those borders you need to double-check.
    Jack
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 26, 2002
  4. Guest

    Guest Guest

    At my Canadian University we used credit units which were the same as saying credit hours. When we said "University Calendar" we meant "University catalogue".

    North

     
  5. rinri

    rinri New Member

    3 semesters?

    A bit off the subject....

    Recently, I read in a university's online literature that it offers "3 enrollment periods: Semester 1, Semester 2 and Semester 3."

    My past studies of Latin tell me there's a misnomer here. Semester includes "semi" meaning "half." Thus, a semester is a term spanning (roughly) half of a year. Can you have 3 halves in a whole? Probably more correct would be "trimester.";)
     
  6. A friend of mine is doing his MBA at USC (Marshall) and tells me they are on a quarter system -- 5 quarters a year. This must be where those Arthur Andersen folks were educated!
     

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