The unit of credit used in registration at Rutgers is based in part
upon a measure of time, with 1 credit equal to one class hour a week
through a 15-week semester. For a 3-credit course, a qualified and
competent student should require, on average, nine hours a week (in and
out of classroom or laboratory) to carry out the work expected. One credit of
laboratory requires three class hours of work per week. A full-time
program is defined by the university as 9 credits per semester. The maximum
program is normally 15 credits, although under some circumstances
registration for a maximum of 18 credits is permitted upon recommendation by the student's adviser and with approval of
the dean. Fellows and assistants also must register their appointments
according to directions provided by the registrar at the time of
registration and submit form RT100 to the Office of Student Accounts.
Students with part-time employment outside the university who average
16 or more hours per week may not register for more than 9 credits per semester. Students employed 30 or more hours per week may not register
for more than 6 credits per semester. Employment of international
students is restricted by federal regulations; international students
should consult with the Center for Global Services before undertaking employment of any kind to ensure that their
legal status permits it.
In interpreting conflicts about program limits, the dean's
office generally regards 35 to 40 hours a week as a full-time
commitment, whether it occurs through employment or through academic credits. The university assumes that the enthusiastic
participant is apt to devote well above this amount of time and that
formal commitments of time become more difficult to make as they
approach the upward limit of 60 hours of commitments with some combination of academic study and employment.
