--- Forwarded Message from Sharon Scinicariello <[log in to unmask]> --- Hello, The University of Richmond does not have a concept of 'lab hours'. Richmond students do have required--and scheduled--face-to-face practice sessions with undergraduate language assistants. When I did work at a school which required audio/video work in the lab as the fourth credit hour, it was extremely difficult to draw the line between this work and homework. We didn't have the personnel to do monitored practice sessions in the lab, which would have made it easier to make the distinction. With so much practice materials available on line, I think it would be extremely difficult to monitor independent 'lab hours' . This year Richmond 'decoupled' class time and course credit, i.e., students are expected to spend 10 - 13 hours/week for one unit of credit (generally one course), but the faculty member (with the students?) can decide how that time is divided between in-class and out-of-class work. This has not really affected the language and literature courses, but it has meant less debate about seat time and more about what students need to do to learn. Best, Sharon *********************************************** LLTI is a service of IALLT, the International Association for Language Learning (http://iallt.org/), and The Consortium for Language Teaching and Learning (http://www.languageconsortium.org/). Join IALLT at http://iallt.org. Otmar Foelsche, LLTI-Editor ([log in to unmask]) ***********************************************