How to Calculate College Semester Hours

You may spend 17 hours in a class per semester, but that does not mean that you have obtained 17 semester hours. Semester hours refer to the amount of credit earned by college students per class for each semester that the student is enrolled. These semester hours are a way of computing the requirements that the student has fulfilled for graduation. Each university has its own system from converting class hours into semester credit hours, but most colleges and universities list this information on unofficial and official transcripts.

Things You'll Need

  • College transcript
  • Calculator
Show More

Instructions

    • 1

      Request an unofficial copy of your transcript from the office of the registrar. Most college registrar offices will require you to submit a form that includes your name, student identification number, address, phone number, date of graduation or expected graduation and the dates that you attended the school. Fax, mail or submit the application in person and pay any necessary fees to obtain your transcript.

    • 2

      Find the amount of semester credit hours associated with each corresponding class on the transcript. Most transcripts will include the number of semester hours obtained in a column to the right of the name of the course taken.

    • 3

      Add the total number of semester hours obtained for a particular semester using a calculator. You can also add the number of all the semester hours obtained throughout your college career to calculate the credits you achieved towards graduation. Add only the semester hours for courses in which you received a passing grade.

    • 4

      Contact your academic adviser if the number of semester hours is not listed on your transcript. Your academic adviser can then provide you with information about how to convert the number of actual hours spent in the class to the appropriate amount of semester hours. For instance, a class in which you spent one hour a week for 14 weeks may translate into three semester hours. Apply the conversion rate to the classes for which you obtained credits, then add all of the semester hours together.

Learnify Hub © www.0685.com All Rights Reserved