contact hour

Definition

A unit measuring actual instructional time between faculty and students, typically equating to one 50-60 minute class session. The currency of academic workload calculations and accreditation requirements.

Example Usage

This course requires 45 contact hours, which sounds impressive until you realize that's just three hours weekly for fifteen weeks.

Origin

Standardized in American higher education in the mid-20th century for workload calculation and federal financial aid compliance

Fun Fact

Contact hours exclude homework time, meaning a 3-credit course theoretically requires 9 hours of weekly student work—a fiction students discover when reality hits.

Source: Higher education administrative standards

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