St. Mary’s Seminary and University operates on a 15-week semester system. In the Ecumenical Institute, the fifteenth week is given to summative work (typically completion of a final capstone assignment). The number of credit units assigned to a course is indicative of the total work load which the course should demand. One semester unit is considered to entail 45 hours of effort including class time, reading, preparation, assignments and examinations. A full-time student must carry a minimum of 9 units per semester.