* The institution: Different colleges and universities have different credit hour systems and requirements.
* The student's program: Full-time students typically take more credit hours than part-time students. A typical full-time load might be 12-18 credit hours per semester, but some programs might require more or less.
* The length of the academic year: Some schools have semesters, others have quarters, and some might use trimesters. This directly affects the total number of credit hours possible in a year.
To find out how many credit hours are in an academic year for a specific student, you'd need to check the academic calendar and course catalog of their college or university.