OCU operates on a semester calendar that starts in September and ends in August. There are two (2) semesters per calendar year. One semester is 16 weeks. However, each semester is divided into two (2) “sessions”, each eight (8) weeks long. Therefore, each semester has two (2) sessions. Hybrid and online courses follow the same academic calendar. Applicants may apply to and enroll in any of the six (6) sessions per academic year. Students may graduate at any of the six (6) sessions per academic year.
Each course is eight (8) weeks. A course is broken into eight (8) Lesson intervals to measure Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP). Therefore, each lesson is completed in one (1) week. This gives opportunities for the professor to guide, assist, and support your learning process. Within each Lesson, a student will be provided instructions and details as to how to complete the Lesson. Each Lesson consists of various activities or assessments to measure your level of mastery of various subject areas. Specific Chapters are assigned to read, discussion questions to be completed, or case studies to be analyzed.