A course credit (also known as a credit hour, a credit or a unit) is a unit that gives weighting to the value, level or time requirements of an academic course. Some courses are worth 2 college credits, while other courses that require more work or class time are worth 3 college credits.
In a college or university, students typically receive credit hours based on the number of "contact hours" per week in class, for one semester. A contact hour includes any lecture or lab time when the professor is teaching the student or coaching the student while they apply the course information to an activity.
A full time student usually takes between 15-18 credits per semester.