Excess Credit Hours
Students who are Texas residents and enrolled in any public institution of higher education prior to Fall 1999 are exempt from the rules governing excess credit hours.
Students who are Texas residents and enrolled in any public institution of higher education for the first time fall 1999 or later are subject to the following legislative requirements:
- Effective with students initially enrolling in the fall 1999 semester and subsequent terms, hours, including dual credit hours, attempted* by a resident undergraduate student that exceed more than 45 hours beyond the minimum number of hours required for their baccalaureate degree requirements at a Texas public senior college or university may be charged additional tuition, up to the level of that institution’s nonresident charges.
- Effective with students initially enrolling in the fall 2006 semester and subsequent terms, hours, including dual credit hours, attempted* by a resident undergraduate student that exceed more than 30 hours beyond the minimum number of hours required for their baccalaureate degree requirements at a Texas public senior college or university may be charged additional tuition, up to the level of that institution’s nonresident charges.
Per state law (HB 2223), students who have exceeded 18 hours of developmental education courses will be charged a surcharge of $60 per credit hour.
Students who have not selected a major are considered, by state law, to have a degree requirement of 120 hours.
For purposes of excess hours, resident undergraduate student includes a nonresident student who is permitted to pay resident tuition.
*Attempted hours are defined as course hours that the student is enrolled in after the census day of the semester (12th day of the semester for fall and spring, 4th day of the semester for each summer session).
The following types of hours are exempt and are not subject to the limitation on formula funding set out in §13.103 of this title (relating to Limitation on Formula Funding for Excess Hours):
- hours earned by the student before receiving a bachelor’s degree that has been previously awarded to the student;
- hours earned through examination or similar method without registering for a course;
- hours from remedial and developmental courses, workforce education courses, or other courses that would not generate academic credit that could be applied to a degree at the institution if the course work is within the 27-hour limit at two-year colleges and the 18-hour limit at general academic institutions;
- hours earned by the student at a private institution or an out-of-state institution; and
- hours not eligible for formula funding.
Repeated Courses
Students may be charged a higher rate of tuition, not to exceed the rate charged to nonresident undergraduate students, for any hours for a course that is the same (or substantially similar to a course) that the student previously attempted for two or more times at the same institution.
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Texas Education Code §54.068 permits institutions of higher education to charge a higher rate of tuition to resident undergraduate students with repeated or excess hours. This higher rate is not to exceed the rate charged to non-resident undergraduate students.
Per state law, students who register for a credit course a third or subsequent time will be charged a tuition surcharge of $60 per credit hour. The “Third Attempt” tuition costs will not apply to developmental courses, continuing education courses, special-studies courses in which the content changes each time, or other select courses.
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The following types of hours are exempt and are not subject to the limitation on formula funding set out in §13.105 of this title (relating to Limitation on Formula Funding for Repeated Hours for Attempted Course).
- hours for remedial and development courses, if the course work is within the 27-hour limit at two-year colleges and the 18-hour limit at general academic institutions;
- hours for special topics and seminar courses;
- hours for courses that involve different or more advanced content each time they are taken, including but not limited to, individual music lessons, Workforce Education Courses, manual Special Topics courses (when the topic changes), theater practicum, music performance, ensembles, certain physical education and kinesiology courses, and studio art;
- hours for independent study courses; and
- hours for continuing education courses that must be repeated to retain professional certification.
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