WHAT ABOUT LABS?

But beware the shortcut.

If we take a moment and add the "seat time" in this chemistry lab ...

... we see that you are in class for nearly 3 hours, just like a regular lecture class. You might think it's worth 3 credit hours, then. But it's not.

Most other classes assume that you are doing homework outside of class. (Remember, that for every one hour in class, the computation is that you are spending two hours of outside homework).

Labs are a different story.

They are treated as if all the work for class is done IN THE ACTUAL CLASSROOM DURING THAT MEETING TIME. Because labs are, by design, a practical application of knowledge, you don't get any "credits" for outside work, like lab reports.

As a result, for most labs, every three hours is only worth ONE credit.

It may not seem fair -- but at least we know why!