@STEMFamily - It is possible that the warning is a programming trigger which automatically sends out the note about 180 limit.
Has your D checked with the school or an advisor to see if it means anything to her since she is there on a scholarship? Since she is in her senior year, it will mainly impact her final semester if she takes 18 this semester and has only 12 left over.
@ucbalumnus, OK, less than a quarter is probably an exaggeration, but for instance, a history major at UIUC requires 36 credit-hours: http://www.history.illinois.edu/undergraduate/major/
An astronomy major at UIUC requires less than a quarter of classes in astronomy (26 credit-hours) but does have math and physics requirements as well: http://www.astro.illinois.edu/academics/undergraduate/major/
@GTAustin, re: expanding personally:
Depends on whether you are paying for it or a state is. A state may have the not unreasonable view that personal expansion isn’t a good use of taxpayer money.
I’m glad the University of Oklahoma doesn’t have a credit cap. Their National Merit scholarship is good for 5 years of full tuition waiver (including summers).
36 credits is 30% of the degree.
For astronomy, the total number of credits (including the math and physics) is 48-49, or 40% of the degree.
@PurpleTitan , for once I am actually seeing some benefit for being a full freight taxpayer for 35 years. My residential road has not been paved in 20 yrs, 40% of every dollar I pay for local school taxes goes elsewhere and I have seen every manipulation possible of finances and marital status to reduce EFC. My DDs are going to graduate in 4 years, not the 5 that most people recommend by taking 18 hrs/semester vs 12. My DD took the hardest courses they could in HS so they could get some flexibility for courses in college. My family, for once, is actually on the receiving end for the tax dollars I have paid and I am grateful for that and I will continue to pay my taxes without complaint.