Tuition and Financial Aid

Excessive Undergraduate Hours

Section 54.014, Texas Education Code, authorizes Texas public institutions of higher education to charge resident undergraduate students at a higher rate not to exceed the non-resident tuition rate if they exceed the maximum number of semester credit hours attempted to complete their degree programs. Attempted semester credit hours include all semester credit hours taken at a Texas public institution of higher education for which a student was registered as of Census Day, including, but not limited to, courses that have been repeated, failed, and courses from which the student withdrew.

Undergraduate resident students who enrolled for the first time in fall 1999 through summer 2006, the maximum is 45 semester credit hours beyond the MINIMUM number of semester credit hours required for completion of the degree program in which the student is enrolled, or 120 semester credit hours for a student who is not enrolled in a degree program.

Undergraduate resident students who enrolled for the first time in fall 2006 and subsequent semesters, the maximum is 30 semester credit hours beyond the MINIMUM number of semester credit hours required for completion of the degree program in which the student is enrolled, or 120 semester credit hours for a student who is not enrolled in a degree program.

Undergraduate Texas resident students who exceed the maximum semester credit hours towards completion of the primary degree program will be charged the non-resident tuition rate. Students already holding one baccalaureate degree are exempt from the non-resident tuition rate or the maximum number of semester credit hours when enrolled in a second baccalaureate degree program.

Students may be exempted from the payment of the excessive semester credit hours charge if the payment of the non-resident tuition rate would result in an economic hardship for the student. A student with an economic hardship is defined as someone who, at the time of registration, is documented with the Office of Financial Aid as being eligible for a Federal Pell Grant, regardless of whether they actually receive the funding due to enrollment status, non-satisfactory academic progress, or other reasons. Students seeking an exemption are encouraged to contact the Office of the Registrar to verify eligibility prior to Census Day for the term. Excessive tuition charges will not be removed retroactively.

For more information regarding excessive semester credit hours, please visit the Office of the Registrar's website.