Consumer Information

Accreditation

The links in this site provide readily accessible consumer information to help students, parents, employees, and the university community make informed decisions about higher education.

Its accreditation has been continuous since first granted in 1913 and was most recently renewed in 2012. Some programs are also accredited and/or approved by other agencies. Accreditation information can be found on the  Baker University accreditation page.

Credit Hour Definition

Baker University subscribes to the federal definition of the credit hour:

“A credit hour is an amount of work represented in intended learning outcomes and verified by evidence of student achievement that is an institutionally established equivalency that reasonably approximates not less than:

1. One hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of two hours of out-of-class student work each week for approximately fifteen weeks for one semester […] hour of credit […]; or

2. At least an equivalent amount of work as required in paragraph 1) of this definition for other academic activities as established by the institution including laboratory work, internships, practica, studio work, distance learning and other academic work leading to the award of credit hours.”

A class hour at Baker University is typically 50 minutes.

University Process for Determining the Assignment of Credit Hours and Program Length

The following procedures describe the university’s process for determining the assignment of credit hours and program length:

1.  In the process of developing a new course and/or program, faculty will propose the appropriate assignment of credit hours on the approved college or school form.

2. The proposed course and/or program must then be reviewed and approved in sequential order by the following units:

a. Academic department or service team

b. CAS, USON, SPGS – Educational Programs and Curriculum Committee (EPC);

USOE – Council on Undergraduate Teacher Education (CUTE);

GSOE – Graduate Education Committee;

GSON – Graduate Nursing Education Committee

c. Faculty senate of each college or school

d. University Academic Council (for addition and removal of programs, majors, and/or degree requirements)

e. Board of Trustees (for addition and removal of programs and majors)

3. Courses and/or academic work must conform to the definition of a credit hour.

Campus Security Report

Baker University publishes an annual security report that discloses relevant information about campus security policies and crime statistics

Annual Security Report

Cohort Default Rate

Federal student loan borrowers have to begin repaying their loans six months after graduating, leaving school, or dropping below half-time enrollment. If borrowers make no payments for any period of 270 days, or roughly 9 months, they will default on their student loans. The U.S. Department of Education tracks the number and percentage of federal student loan borrowers who default on their student loans within three years of entering repayment. This is the Cohort Default Rate, commonly referred to as “three-year” CDR. The Department of Education releases official cohort default rates for each school that is eligible to participate in the federal student loan program once per year. The current rates (FY 2021) were released in August 2024. The national cohort default rate average and Baker University’s cohort default rate are currently 0%. As expected the pause on student loan payments and interest charges that were in effect until September 30, 2023, impacted national and school cohort default rates. During the pause borrowers with ED-held student loans were not required to make any payments, and no borrowers with ED-held loans entered default. The cohort default rate was based on 670 borrowers.