Indicator 63
Student Credit Hours by Class Size, 2003-04 and 2007-08
This graph shows how the total number of student credit hours earned in 2003-04 and 2007-08 were distributed across classes of varying size. It acts as an indicator of where (that is, in classes of what size) students earn credit towards their degrees.
The distribution of students' time in class did not change significantly between 2003-04 and 2007-08. In fact, total SCH increased slightly in both small and large classes, reflecting the fact that UC faculty overall taught more classes of all sizes during that period.
Overall, students earn far more of their credits in large classes than in small ones. For example, 61 percent of the total number of credit hours students earned in 2007-08 were earned in classes with 50 or more students.
However, lower-division students are more likely to spend more of their instructional time in large classes ranging from 150 to 500 students. Upper-division students are more likely to be found in mid-sized classes (50 to 150 students), and graduate and professional students are more likely to be found in small classes.
Source: UCOP "T.I.E." Faculty Workload data collection.
Data shown here are for general campus undergraduate and graduate courses; health sciences classes are excluded.