12 credit hours - minimum number of credit hours required to be classified as full-time.
12 credit hours - recommended for students working outside of college 20 or more hours per week
15-18 credit hours * - recommended for students working outside of college less than 20 hours per week; required pace to complete bachelor degree programs within 4 years
*Students may petition the VP for Academic Affairs for more than 19 credit hours if the following conditions have been met:
1) the student has a 3.0 gpa based upon 18 or more completed program hours at DSC,
or
2) the student is in his/her last semester prior to graduation.
Source: Dalton State College Catalog
While the catalog only mentions employment hours outside of class, students should also consider family obligations when determining an appropriate load of classes. Many of our students have children or siblings that require their time and attention. Since many of our students are first generation, they may not realize the amount of time needed outside of class to prepare/study for classes. For this reason, all students should be informed that for every hour in class they should devote 2-3 hours outside of class to their studies.