Standards for Contact Hours

Purpose

Notes:

• Minimum contact hours may be varied where a strong case can be made that alternative technologies compensate for a reduction in class time
• Unit coordinators may schedule more contact hours than the minimum
• Where a unit is delivered in flexible mode, contact hours should be equivalent to those on-campus units listed below

Undergraduate units - first year level (6 points)

Non-language units: 3 hours per week in the form of lectures and/or tutorials.

Pure language units: 4-5 hours per week in the form of lectures/tutorials/language classes for spoken languages. 4 hours for non-spoken languages.

Language and cultre units (including subjects funded for a higher level of staff-student ratio e.g. Physical Geography, Music, Visual Arts): 4-5 hours per week in the form of lectures/tutorials/language classes.

Undergraduate units - later year level

6 point non-language units: minimum 22 hours per semester

- Tutorials/seminars should start in the first week and run in at least 11 weeks of the semester

- The teaching period should run for the full 12 weeks

6 point language units: minimum 33 hours per semester

-Classes start in the first week and run in at least 11 weeks of the semester

12 point non-language units: minimum 33 hours per semester

- Tutorials/seminars should start in the first week and run in at least 11 weeks of the semester

- The teaching period should run for the full 12 weeks

12 point language units: minimum 33 hours per semester

- Classes start in the first week and run in at least 11 weeks of the semester

Postgraduate units (12 points)

Level 4 and 5 units: minimum 22 hours per semester

- Tutorials/seminars should start in the first week and run in at least 11 weeks of the semester

- The teaching period should run for the full 12 weeks

 18 and 24 point units taking the form of research projects/honours theses

Contact hours and the nature of teaching should accord with the Faculty of Arts Honours Procedures

Handbook Procedure:

• Each unit entry in the handbook must contain the overall number of contact hours per week e.g. 3 hours per week.
• It is not required that the handbook entry contain information detailing how the contact hours will be allocated to different activities e.g. (2x1 hour lectures and 1x1 hour tutorial). This information must be included in the unit guide.

Arts Education Committee

Meeting number: 4

Meeting date: 23 May 2012

Agenda item: 3