Internet Learning Volume 1, Number 1, Fall 2012 | Page 63

62

Internet Learning

online education into credit hours? Examination of the U.S. Department of Education and the six
regional accrediting agencies’ policies and documents was conducted. Interviews with persons
representing the various organizations were conducted and used to triangulate findings from
policies and documents.
During the last part of the study, the U.S. Department of Education released the Program
Integrity Issues (2010) ruling. The regulation was issued to address several concerns within
higher education and included placing a definition of a credit hour into federal rules. Information
pertinent to this study from the ruling was integrated into the findings discussed in the following
sections.
Review of Literature
A review of pertinent literature began the project. Readings found were from library sources and
databases. One search focused on credit hour definition, use, and practice. An additional search
conducted pertained to asynchronous online education. This search was found limiting and was
widened to incorporate distance education with attention to online learning. Throughout the
process, synonyms of the two primary subjects, credit hours and asynchronous online education,
were used to create the broadest search and review possible. A guiding principle of the review
was how online education courses were associated with credit hours. The relevant information is
provided in the subsequent sections.
Credit Hour Definition. The late 1800s and into the early 1900s, American education
experienced several changes that caused lasting effects. The United States Bureau of Education
was formed in response to the creation of land grant universities by the Morrill Act (1862).
Subsequently, centralized governance and standards for education began to develop providing
the foundation for the U.S. K-12 and higher-education systems known today. This transition also
provided reason for the National Education Association’s recommendations to address the need
for standards and minimal requirements for enrollment in secondary education. A standard of 14
units of credit became required for college entrance with each unit of credit equaling a minimum
of 130 instructional hours (Heffernan 1973; Lorimer 1962; Shedd 2003a; 2003b; Wellman and
Ehrlich 2003a; 2003b; Wolanin 2003). The 14 units were equivalent to four years of high school
education. Also, each unit represented an instructional hour. The units were designed to provide
a uniform process of measuring learning between all schools.
According to the Carnegie Foundation (2008) and Maeroff (1994), the Carnegie
Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching greatly influenced adoption of the National
Education Association’s standard units. The Foundation stipulated that institutions had to use
what became known as the Carnegie Unit in order to receive funding for teacher pensions. The
Carnegie Unit, according to Shaw (1993) and Watkins (1991), promoted and established national
education standards and uniformity to the length of classes, school terms, and admission
standards. The traditional five 40–55 minute classes per week became part of American
education. Mullin (2001) further indicated that because of the ease of use, the credit hour quickly
became a vital part of the U.S. education system and used for administrative decisions such as
budgets and faculty work loads.
Asynchronous Online Education. Remote or distance learning is not new to higher
education. Other modalities include correspondence, the Lyceum movement, Chautauqua,
Society to Encourage Studies at Home, Correspondence University, and Extension services
(Larreamendy-Joerns and Leinhardt 2006; Pittman 1991; Watkins 1991). VanKekerix and