Graduate courses at UDTS follow a general pattern of weekly engagement and meet a minimum threshold of engagement per credit. 


Pattern of Weekly Engagement

Classes at UDTS are facilitated on a Tuesday through Monday weekly schedule. The reason behind this is that most students are in ministry and are working through the weekend, so we make the most of the time students have available. 

Tuesdays: Learning content for the week is released to students (if not made available sooner). This should include lectures, reading assignments, and instructions for any engagement to happen throughout the week

Tuesdays-Sundays: You can expect engagement with learning content throughout the week. While you can add additional deadlines throughout the week (example: make your first post to the forum by Friday so everyone can have a chance to respond before Monday), most students need flexibility throughout the week. If you choose a midweek deadline for some work, be consistent week to week so students can build expected study and participation time into their weeks.

Mondays: You should utilize Mondays for final deadlines on engagement in forums, assignments, quizzes, etc. for the week.

Study Weeks: Every fall and spring term have built-in study weeks, designed to be used by students to rest or complete work from prior weeks that may need catching up. This flexibility in the term works to ensure that no one falls too far behind when life events happen throughout the term. Some faculty open learning materials for the week prior to a study week for two weeks, putting final deadlines for the previous week at the end of the study break. Some faculty leave deadlines as they are for the week prior and assign nothing for a study week. Either way, no NEW material should be assigned or expected during a study week. 

Holiday Breaks: Fall and spring terms regularly have holidays that are days off, and in some cases, weeks off of class. 

  • Thanksgiving is always given as a week off, Monday through Friday. Due dates can fall on the Monday following Thanksgiving if you wish, but many faculty do not program any new material during this break. 
  • Easter is always given as a week off, Tuesday of Holy Week through Monday following Easter. This is an especially busy time for those serving churches. No new material should be assigned during this break, and no deadlines should fall on the Monday following Easter. 


Learning Time for a Three-Credit Course

Most courses at UDTS are offered for three credits in a semester format. The minimum number of hours of engagement for the average student to complete for a three credit class is 112.5 hours, or approximately 7.5 hours per week in a 15 week term. Learning time includes time engaging with learning materials such as lectures and readings as well as time spent working on assignments, quizzes, forums, and other forms of learning and engagement. 

The UD Learning Time Worksheet (click to download) is designed to help instructors estimate the number of learning hours it might take the average student to complete the requirements of the course. Instructors designing and teaching classes for the first time will be asked to complete this worksheet prior to the start of the course. Note the following when completing the learning time worksheet: 

  • "Regular class sessions" don't exist for online courses. Either leave that at 0 hours or calculate the approximate amount of time weekly lectures will be, and enter an average number of minutes per week of lecture. 
  • "Scheduled Final Examination Period" doesn't exist for online courses. Consider the approximate amount of time you'd like students to take on a summative final exam or assignment and enter that time for the final exam. 
  • Reading assignments can be divided into categories for difficulty, as specified in the worksheet. 
  • All other engagement, especially all assessments that are designed to demonstrative achievement of learning outcomes for the course, need to be included in the "Other out-of-class assignments" section, estimated in hours. 
  • Total amount of engagement should be at least 112.5 hours but not more than 150 hours for a three credit course. 


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