There is a scarcity of information identifying whether course credit value is a reasonable assessment of university student engagement in online courses. Defining the student hour in an online environment is particularly challenging and can impact student and faculty workloads. Watson's behavioralistic theory grounded the assessments in this study on whether student engagement in undergraduate courses in an online university was equivalent to the traditional "seat time" student hour definition, and thus whether such courses were appropriately valued in credits. A quantitative, nonexperimental descriptive survey approach was used to describe student engagement in online courses and relate it to the traditional definition. A one-way ANOVA was used to determine if demographic differences existed in average weekly time spent engaged in coursework. Paired t tests were used to compare weekly engagement with the traditional student hour definition. The interval time diary data demonstrated that students were spending significantly less time engaged in coursework when compared with the traditional student hour definition. Recommendations are provided for policy development and implementation in online institutions, including a resulting white paper on developing basic guidelines for student hour credit hours in online institutions. These findings have positive social change implications for university administrations, financial aid programs, and accrediting agencies, all of whom are concerned about the validity of credit assignment to online courses and the academic quality and integrity of these educational offerings. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]