Proposing a Professional Development Course

Credit and Day Ratios

All credit courses must adhere to the following parameters regarding number of credits and day ratios:

Basic Standards

• Maximum of 3 credits in a seven-day week
• Maximum 8 contact hours per day

Approved Minimum Standard

• 1 credit: two days' instruction
• 2 credits: three days' instruction
• 3 credits: five consecutive days' instruction
• 3 credits: four non-consecutive days' instruction
• 4 credits: five days of non-consecutive instruction, not within a seven-day week
• 5 credits: seven days of non-consecutive instruction, not within a seven-day week

When you consider the above parameters, note that five minutes of break time are included in each instructional hour. Breaks may be taken hourly or accrued up to four hours and taken all at once, but it is not to be included as lunchtime.

Federal laws require 30 minutes be provided for lunch within an eight-hour day, and that lunchtime must be provided in addition to instructional time. Schedule lunchtime separately from your students' break time.

If you are not being paid through SPU, then the base cost per credit of your course will be $45, or $20 per each 10 CEUs (clock hours).

If you are contracted and paid through SPU, then the base cost per credit of your course is $70, or $45 per each 10 CEUs (clock hours).

SPU's Center for Professional Education requires a minimum of three weeks' processing time for all new courses. Additionally, every succeeding time you offer the course, a course form must be completed and sent to CPE at least two weeks prior to the course's start date. Remember, the earlier you submit a course proposal, the sooner you will receive confirmation of course approval and registration materials.

Submit all your course proposals, adjunct faculty application, and official transcripts to:
Seattle Pacific University, SOE-CPE
3307 Third Avenue West, Suite 209
Seattle, WA 98119-1950

When the Center for Professional Education receives your course proposal, we review it for completeness and compliance with accreditation policies. Following course approval, your course will be assigned a course number, and you will receive a confirmation card indicating approval and course-numbering information.

A registration packet will be sent to you or to a designated individual three weeks before the beginning date of the course, or the day after the course is approved, whichever comes first.

Registration is conducted on-site by you, the instructor. All registration forms and a tuition payment for each student must be sent to SPU's Student Academic Services within three days of the second class session. Detailed instructions will be included in the registration packet.