UHD 2000/2001 Catalog UHD Catalog Home | Course Descriptions | Course Credit and Numbering System Table of Contents | Previous Section | Next Section | Index | How to Use the Online Catalog Course Credit and Numbering System The Texas Common Course Numbering System Texas Common Course Numbering System Cross-Reference List 71 Course Credit and Numbering System Progress in the completion of academic work is measured in terms of semester credit hours. One semester credit hour is normally equivalent to one hour of class work, or from one to six hours of laboratory work per week for a semester. All courses are identified by discipline and number. The first digit of a course number indicates the academic level. Courses in the 1000 series are for freshmen, 2000 for sophomores, 3000 for juniors and 4000 for seniors. The second digit indicates the number of semester credit hours which the course carries. The three numbers in parentheses after each course title indicate in order, the number of semester credit hours, the number of class hours per week and the number of additional laboratory or activity hours per week. In this catalog, the common course number is indicated in parentheses at the end of the course description. In addition, an index is provided on page 61 listing all UH-Downtown courses for which a common course number exists. The Texas Common Course Numbering System The University of Houston-Downtown is a participant in the Texas Common Course Numbering System. This system ensures that if a student takes the courses UH-Downtown has designated as common, the courses will be accepted in transfer and treated as if they had been taken at UH-Downtown. The common course number has a standard four-letter prefix followed by a four-digit number. The four-letter prefix identifies the subject area. For example, ENGL is the common prefix for English courses, while COSC is the common prefix for computer science courses. The four-digit numbers following the prefix identifies specific courses with the subject area. Each digit in the four-digit sequence gives additional information about the course. The first digit identifies the course as either freshman level (1) or sophomore level (2). The second digit identifies the number of credit hours students earn upon completing the course. The final two digits indicate the sequence in which courses are generally taken. Thus, French I—FREN 1311—is taken before French II—FREN 1312. In this catalog, the common course number is indicated in parentheses at the end of the course description. In addition, an index is provided on page 70 listing all UH-Downtown courses for which a common course number exists. The Office of Admissions (Room 326-South; telephone 713-221-8533) is available to provide more information about the Texas Common Course Numbering System.