Excessive Hours

Overview

Texas Education Code § 54.014 specifies that resident undergraduate students who initially enrolled fall 1999 and later may be subject to a higher tuition rate for attempting excessive hours at any public institution of higher education while classified as a resident student for tuition purposes. Beginning with fall 2007, UNT undergraduate students who are classified as Texas Residents and those who pay in state tuition rates will be subject to an additional excessive hour tuition rate. For specific information on the additional charges and any requests to appeal, please contact Student Accounting and refer to information on Additional Tuition for Excessive Hours.

1. Undergraduate students who enrolled initially in the fall 1999 semester or subsequent semesters cannot exceed more than 45 hours of the number of hours required for completion of the degree plan in which they are enrolled. Any hours beyond 45 are considered excessive and will result in additional tuition charges.

2. Undergraduate students who enrolled initially in the fall 2006 semester or subsequent semesters cannot exceed more than 30 hours of the number of hours required for completion of the degree plan in which they are enrolled. Any hours beyond 30 are considered excessive and will result in additional tuition charges.

Courses that count towards the excessive hour calculation are those attempted at any Texas public institution of higher education.  This includes:

• Hours earned in courses in which a grade is earned on the transcript
• Courses dropped with a grade of “W”, “WF”, ”Q” or equivalent
• Hours excluded from the student record resulting from Fresh Start

The following types of credit hours do not count toward the limit:

• Credit hours earned after a baccalaureate degree
• Credit hours earned through examination, (AP or CLEP)
• Credit from remedial and developmental courses
• Credit hours taken at a private institution or an out-of-state institution
• Credit earned prior to high school graduation

Degree plan hours include the total number of hours required for a student to complete his or her degree plan. Students with excessive hours are encouraged to contact their academic advisor to review their degree plan and insure that it is complete, accurate and to verify the hours required for completion.

Please note that the requirements regarding the hours used to calculate a student's eligibility for $1,000 Tuition Rebate vary significantly from the requirements determining excessive hours.

Viewing Excessive Hour Status

Students can view their excessive hour status on the For Students page at myUNT.  Detailed instructions for viewing the Excess Hours on Help for Students page.

Laws That Regulate Student Course Load

45 Plus Hour Rule (Previously the 170 Hour Rule)

Senate Bill 345, the 45 Plus Hour Rule, stipulates that a student taking more than 45 hours over the minimum required for their undergraduate degree will be required to pay tuition at a rate higher than the rate charged for regular resident undergraduate tuition.

The Bill states, "The board may not include funding for semester credit hours earned by a resident undergraduate student who before the semester or other academic session begins has previously attempted a number of semester credit hours for courses taken at any institution of higher education while classified as a resident student for tuition purposes that exceeds by at least 45 hours the number of semester credit hours required for completion of the degree program in which the student is enrolled."

The Bill excludes the following:

• Hours earned by the student before receiving a baccalaureate degree that has previously been awarded to the student

• Hours earned by the student by examination or under any other procedure by which credit is earned without registering for a course for which tuition is charged

• Credit for a remedial education course, a technical course, a workforce education course funded according to contact hours, or another course that does not count toward a degree program at the institution

• Hours earned at a private institution or an out-of-state institution

30 Plus Hour Rule

New undergraduate students enrolling in an institution of higher education in Fall 2006 or afterward are subject to the conditions of House Bill 1172 passed in the 79th Legislative Session. This law states that a resident undergraduate student (one who pays in-state tuition) whose attempted semester hours exceeds by at least 30 hours the number required for completion of the degree program may be charged tuition at a higher rate.

The higher rate will not exceed the rate charged to non-resident undergraduate students.

Additional Resources

For instructions on using the EIS Student Center for Registration, please see the Help for Students page.