Academic Definitions

The following are definitions of academic terms commonly used at Lansing Community College (LCC).

Associate Degree

An associate degree consists of a minimum of 60 semester credits in designated courses. It is earned with a minimum of a 2.0 cumulative GPA and successful completion of the LCC General Education requirements, and is recorded on the official academic record. At least 15 semester credits must be earned toward the curriculum directly from LCC (except for approved consortial programs taught primarily by partner schools).

Billing Hour

A billing hour is a representation of time that a student spends in direct contact with an instructor, in lab, or with laboratory equipment. The cost for attending a course at LCC is determined by the course’s billing hours, instead of credit hours.

Certificate of Achievement

A certificate of achievement consists of a minimum of 30 semester credits in designated courses. It is earned with a minimum of a 2.0 cumulative GPA in all courses required for the certificate and is recorded on the official academic record. For certificates of the 2024-25 catalog year onward, earning a grade of 2.0 or above in all courses is required for the certificate. At least 7.5 semester credits must be earned toward the curriculum directly from LCC.

Certificate of Completion

A certificate of completion consists of fewer than 30 semester credits in designated courses. It is earned with a minimum of a 2.0 cumulative GPA in all courses required for the certificate and is recorded on the official academic record. For certificates of the 2024-25 catalog year onward, earning a grade of 2.0 or above in all courses is required for the certificate. At least 25% of the credits required for this certificate must be earned toward the curriculum directly from LCC.

Credit Hour

Credit hours are based on a standard in which one credit hour is reasonably equivalent to not less than a minimum of at least 15 hours of classroom or direct faculty instruction plus a minimum of 30 hours of out-of-class student work per semester (or the equivalent amount of work over a different amount of time, such as a compressed course) as described in U.S. Department of Education Code of Regulations 34 CFR 600.2; or

1. At least an equivalent amount of work as described in paragraph (1) of 34 CFR 600.2 in other College-approved learning activities (e.g., laboratory work, internships, practica, studio work, or comparable academic work, etc.); or
2. Such other standard as may be authorized and approved by the U.S. Department of Education under the Higher Education Act, as amended.

Corequisite Course

A corequisite course is a course that must be taken concurrently with another course.

Course

A course is a sequence of planned learning experiences leading to a set of expected learning outcomes. Course activities are normally scheduled over an academic semester. A student's successful completion of a course earns academic credit based on contact hours in class or in laboratories. The student also earns an academic grade which evaluates the student's success in achieving the expected outcomes. A course routinely includes tests, quizzes, a final examination, and regular out-of-class assignments. At LCC a standard collegewide course syllabus has been created for each course. A seminar, workshop, or fee-for-service learning/training unit is not a course.

Course Offering Formats

Course offerings fit into six types.

• In-Person/Face-to-Face: Traditional courses with all instruction delivered in-person in the classroom, clinical, or worksite.
• HYF - Hyflex: Students have the flexibility to choose how they will participate for each class session: in-person, online during the meeting time, or online asynchronously.
• ON - Online: Traditional, asynchronous, online courses.
• ORT - Partial Scheduled Lecture: Online Real-Time (ORT)/live online courses with some regularly scheduled online meeting day(s) and times.
• ORT - Full Scheduled Lecture: Online Real-Time (ORT)/live online courses where all instruction is delivered online during designated meeting day(s) and times.
• OH - Online Hybrid: Required in-person instruction with online coursework and activities.

All Course Offerings

* Courses offered in an online format may require students to travel to an LCC campus or request an approved non-LCC testing site (additional fees may apply) for proctored exams. For more information, please visit the Course Testing webpage. For a list of courses that require onsite proctored exams, please visit the Online Degrees and Certificates webpage.

Curriculum

A curriculum is a structured program of study. Each curriculum is assigned a number and is valid for a predetermined timeframe.

Guest Student

A guest student is a non-degree seeking student at LCC who has the intention of transferring credit(s) earned at LCC toward a degree or certificate requirement at another college or university.

Major

A major is another term for a student’s program of study.

Module

A module is a component of a course offered as a separate educational package, which includes learning objectives, learning activities, and assessment procedures designed to guide learners through a specific unit of instruction.

Prerequisite

A prerequisite is a course or other requirement that must be successfully fulfilled prior to participation in a subsequent course or activity. It may also be a skill or behavior that is judged essential to learning a subsequent, more complex skill or behavior. If the course can be taken concurrently, it will be noted in the prerequisite.

Program of Study

A program of study is a course of study that leads to a certificate or degree at the institution. Each certificate and degree is a unique program of study. Any major that ends in a certificate or degree at the institution is a program of study.