Excess Credit Hours Policy
UNIVERSITY DECISION
Texas Education Codes §54.068 and §61.0595, as well as Texas Administrative Code Chapter 13, Subchapter F, §13.102 through §13.108, indicates that the State of Texas will not provide funds to state institutions of higher education for excess semester credit hours earned by an undergraduate resident student. Texas Education Code §54.012 specifies that doctoral students who exceed the critical number of semester credit hours are also not funded by the state. Therefore, it is the university’s decision to charge non-resident tuition to any undergraduate or graduate student who has excess credit hours regardless of the student’s residency status, appointment, fellowship or any other circumstance that would normally entitle the student to resident tuition rates, including tuition waivers.
PERTINENT INFORMATION
Undergraduate Students
Undergraduate students may be subject to excess hour charges if their attempted credit hours exceed the number required for their degree program by:
- 30 Credit hours for students initially enrolled in fall 2006 or later
- 45 Credit hours for students initially enrolled between fall 1999 and summer 2006
Students who began coursework prior to fall 1999 are exempt.
Exclusions from excess hour calculations may include:
- Remedial or developmental courses
- Dual credit and Advanced Placement credits
- Workforce education courses
- Independent study, seminar and special topics courses (when content varies)
- Continuing Education required for certification
- Courses earned for previously completed degree
- Hours earned at private or out-of-state institutions
- Credit earned through examination
Graduate Students
Doctoral students may be subject to excess hour limits as follows
- 99 credit hours for nursing doctoral programs
- 130 credit hours for other doctoral programs
Hours exceeding these limits are not eligible for state funding. Students exceeding these limits are assessed nonresident tuition.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
Attempted Credit Hours
All enrolled coursework counts toward attempted hours, including coursework assigned an Incomplete, Unsatisfactory, or In Progress grade/status, as well as coursework dropped after the census date.
Home Institution
The institution where the student is primarily enrolled and from which the degree is awarded.
Critical Number
For doctoral students in nursing the number is 99 credit hours; for other basic sciences, the number is 130 credit hours.
Semester Credit Hours
A semester credit hour is defined as nominally one hour of classroom time per week per semester. Thus, a class which is held for three hours a week for one semester is a three semester-hour course. While most three semester-hour courses follow this model, some may involve more contact time, such as laboratory courses, and some less time, such as seminar courses. Regardless of the actual contact time involved, a three semester-hour course should be considered as comprising one-fifth of a student’s course load.
30-Hour Rule
Undergraduate students initially enrolled as undergraduates in an institution of higher education beginning in the 2006 fall semester and subsequent semesters may not exceed 30 hours more than the minimum number required for the completion of their degree program.
45-Hour Rule
Undergraduate students initially enrolling as undergraduate in an institution of higher education beginning the 1999 fall semester, but no later than the 2006 summer semester, may not exceed 45 hours more than the minimum number required for completion of their degree program.
99-Hour Rule
Graduate students enrolled in the Nursing Ph.D. program may not exceed 99 total attempted hours in pursuit of the degree, including hours successfully completed and earned. Hours beyond that critical number are unfunded by the state, and so UT San Antonio Health Science Center assesses non-resident tuition to recuperate the loss of funds and costs associated with educating these unfunded students.
130-Hour Rule
Graduate students enrolled in other Ph.D. programs, including those in The Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, may not exceed 130 total attempted hours in pursuit of the degree, including hours successfully completed and earned. This includes dissertation and research hours, among others. Hours beyond that critical number are unfunded by the state, and so UT San Antonio Health Science Center assesses non-resident tuition to recuperate the loss of funds and costs associated with educating these unfunded students.
Students’ Responsibilities
Students are responsible for:
- Monitoring total attempted credit hours relative to degree requirements
- Consulting with their academic program to develop an appropriate degree plan
- Submitting official transcripts from previously attempted institutions
- Understanding the impact of excess hours on tuition and financial aid eligibility
- Consulting with the Office of Veteran Services and Financial Aid, if applicable
A minimum of 24 of the final 30 credit hours must be completed in residence at the degree-granting institution.
Students are encouraged to use the table below to identify the maximum number of hours that they can take based on the hours required for their degree. The hours required for the degree can be found in the appropriate program section of this catalog. Students should use the 45-hour enrollment cap (second column) if they first attended college between fall 1999 and summer 2006. Students should use the 30-hour enrollment cap (third column) if they first attended college beginning fall 2006. Graduate students should refer to the fourth and fifth columns based on their program of study.
Undergraduate
| Hours Required for Degree | 45 Hr. Enrollment Cap | 30 Hr. Enrollment Cap | 99 Hr. Enrollment Cap | 130 Hr. Enrollment Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 120 | 165 | 150 | X | X |
| 123 | 168 | 153 | X | X |
| 124 | 169 | 154 | X | X |
| 127 | 172 | 157 | X | X |
| 132 | 177 | 162 | X | X |
Ph.D.
| Hours Required for Degree | 45 Hr. Enrollment Cap | 30 Hr. Enrollment Cap | 99 Hr. Enrollment Cap | 130 Hr. Enrollment Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 99 | X | X | 99 | X |
| 130 | X | X | X | 130 |
Excess Hours Appeals
Students may appeal the assessment of nonresident tuition due to excess hours. Appeals must be submitted in writing to the Office of the University Registrar.
The Registrar or designee will review the student's academic record, including coursework from all institutions attended, to determine whether any exemptions apply. The decision of the Registrar or designee is final.