The policy on workload in the Faculty of Health Sciences is that one (1) credit point requires approximately two (2) hours of student effort per week over the semester. This means that a 6 credit point unit of study, for example, carries with it the expectation that 12 hours of work per week will be done by students in that unit throughout the semester. These hours include both class contact hours and time spent on study in the unit.
The relation between the number of credit points and the hours of work refer to an 'average' student. Student work habits and capabilities vary widely. What takes one person one hour may take another five hours or half an hour. The number of hours undertaken by a student may also depend on the desire, or lack of, to achieve a 'High Distinction' in the unit.
A standard full-time student is enrolled in units totalling 24 credit points in each semester. The student therefore has a total workload of 48 hours per week. Students should take this total workload into account when deciding upon their commitments to employers, family, sports teams, etc.
[Document originally prepared by N.Linthorne
Edited by ESS WWW coordinator, January 2003]