21 NCAC 58C .0305. COURSE SCHEDULING

(a)  All courses must have fixed beginning and ending dates, and schools may not utilize a scheduling system that allows students to enroll late for a course and then complete their course work in a subsequently scheduled course.  Late enrollment is permitted only if the enrolling student can satisfy the minimum attendance requirement set forth in Rule .0304(g) of this Section. 

(b)  Courses shall not have class meetings that exceed six classroom hours in any given day and 21 classroom hours in any given seven-day period.  However, a school that conducts courses with class meetings that do not exceed a total of 15 classroom hours in any seven-day period may conduct individual class meetings of up to 7 1/2 hours in any given day.  A school may request approval to conduct postlicensing courses that involve an accelerated schedule of up to 30 classroom hours within a seven-day period and the Commission shall grant such approval if the school demonstrates to the Commission that the course will be conducted in a manner that will not compromise instructional quality and course standards.  When considering such a request, the Commission will take into consideration the proposed class schedule, the school's instructional plan, including a plan for assuring that students have a reasonable opportunity to perform required out-of-class reading and other assignments, the instructor's experience in teaching prelicensing and postlicensing courses, the license examination performance of the instructor's former prelicensing course students, and similar factors.  A school granted approval to conduct postlicensing courses that involve an accelerated schedule that exceeds the basic scheduling restrictions prescribed by this Rule shall assure that such courses are conducted in a manner that complies with all applicable Commission rules and the instructional plan submitted to the Commission. 

(c)  A classroom hour consists of 50 minutes of classroom instruction and ten minutes of break time.  For any class meeting that exceeds 50 minutes in duration, breaks at the rate of ten minutes per hour must be scheduled and taken at reasonable times.

 

History Note:        Authority G.S. 93A‑4(a),(d);

Eff. September 1, 1979;

Amended Eff. February 1, 1989; August 1, 1980;

Transferred and Recodified from 21 NCAC 58A .1107 Eff. November 27, 1989;

Amended Eff. July 1, 2009; April 1, 2006; October 1, 2000; July 1, 1996; July 1, 1994; July 1, 1993.