Which states have penalties for excess credits?

[SGP]

<p>North Carolina has a 50% tuition surcharge for students accumulating more than 140 credit hours in a 4 year program. <a href=“http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/enactedlegislation/statutes/pdf/bysection/chapter_116/gs_116-143.7.pdf[/url]”>http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/enactedlegislation/statutes/pdf/bysection/chapter_116/gs_116-143.7.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Are there states with similar laws?</p>

[mom2collegekids]

<p>I think you need to clarify…</p>

<p>are those credits earned AT college? Or does that include AP/IB credits?</p>

[sybbie719]

<p>

North Carolina has a 50% tuition surcharge for students accumulating more than 140 credit hours in a 4 year

</p>

<p>No, North Carolina does not have a 50% tuition surcharge. The University of North Carolina (the state university system) has a 50% tuition surcharge. This does not affect private colleges and Universities in North Carolina.</p>

<p>It states:</p>

<p>Excluded are College board AP, CLEP exams, or similar programs
Institutional advance placement courses, course validation or similar procedures for awarding credit
Summer term or extension programs</p>

<p>I would think that IB credits would be excluded, however it does not address dual enrollment, which is most likely taken at the community college. I understand how it would apply if a student had dual enrollement at a NC public school, but I am wondering how would a student with dual enrollment be treated if they took courses outside of the NC state university system?</p>

[notrichenough]

<p>UMass does something similar:</p>

<p>“The Massachusetts Board of Higher Education requires all universities and state colleges to assess a tuition surcharge to students who exceed 118 percent of required credits in an academic degree program. This surcharge applies to in-state undergraduates and to students enrolled through the New England Regional Exchange Program and is equal to the non-residential tuition rate per credit.”</p>

<p>I’m not sure if this includes AP credit or not. Sounds like it does.</p>

[swimcatsmom]

<p>Interesting. I had no idea schools did this. On the one hand, I can see some logic in it - stops people from dragging school out i guess. On the other hand, it means people may not explore other things that may interest them. My daughter is going to be over that amount of hours for her major - but she has taken some classes that really interested her, like sign language, and she has picked up an environmental certificate for which she had to take a class in a subject she discovered she actually enjoys more than her major. She ended up has minoring in it (too late to switch majors) and if she does a masters may try and do that rather than her current major. None of that would have happened if she had strict limits on class credits, so I’m glad her school does not do this.</p>

[notrichenough]

<p>It’s not always easy to dig the info out, schools don’t go out of their way to publicize it.</p>

<p>I’ve seen schools that charge extra if you take more than a certain number of credits per semester, but there you are just paying for the extra credits at whatever rate is being charged, you are not penalized on the rest of your credits.</p>

[stevensmama]

<p>Virginia does, too.</p>

<p>

The Virginia General Assembly passed and the Governor signed a new law requiring that an undergraduate student entitled to in-state tuition must pay a surcharge on all satisfactorily completed credit hours that are in excess of 125% of the credit hours required for an undergraduate degree. The surcharge will apply to all in-state undergraduate students who are taking courses at a public, baccalaureate degree-granting institution of higher education in Virginia after August 1, 2006. This provision is not applicable to graduate or non-credit classes.

</p>

<p>

The amount of the surcharge will be based on the difference in the rate paid for tuition by an in-state student and the actual cost of providing instruction. Generally, an in-state student pays about one half of the actual cost of instruction. For the 2011– 2012 academic year, this surcharge will amount to $305 per credit hour for all credits earned beyond 152 credits for BA/BS students.

</p>

<p>

It’s also important to emphasize that some credits on a student’s record, such as Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) credits, will not count toward the surcharge total. However, all UMW courses taken will apply to the surcharge threshold, and so will any transfer courses taken that are used to satisfy either general education or major requirements.

</p>

[lastminutemom196]

<p>Texas does as well. After a certain number of hours above what is required for your degree, you are charged out of state tuition. If you graduate with just 3 hours more than needed for your degree, you receive $1000.</p>

[SGP]

<p>I found these as well: Florida [FSU</a> Registrar | Excess Hours](<a href=“FSU Registrar | Error 404 page not found”>FSU Registrar | Error 404 page not found), Arizona <a href=“https://students.asu.edu/tuitiondescriptions[/url]”>https://students.asu.edu/tuitiondescriptions&lt;/a&gt;, Wisconsin <a href=“http://minds.wisconsin.edu/bitstream/handle/1793/22300/tuition_guide.pdf?sequence=1[/url]”>http://minds.wisconsin.edu/bitstream/handle/1793/22300/tuition_guide.pdf?sequence=1&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>So the list so far is:
North Carolina
Virginia
Texas
Massachusetts
Arizona
Wisconsin
Florida</p>

<p>Any others?</p>

[notrichenough]

<p>I found this:</p>

<p>Utah - [Tuition</a> Surcharge for Excess Credit Hours Explained - Registrar’s Office - <a href=“http://www.usu.edu%5B/url%5D”>www.usu.edu](<a href=“Tuition & Payment | Utah State University | USU”>Tuition & Payment | Utah State University | USU)</a></p>

<p>Then I got bored searching.</p>

[mom2collegekids]

<p>Interesting. I had no idea schools did this. On the one hand, I can see some logic in it - stops people from dragging school out i guess.</p>

<p>For those on financial aid, these kinds of rules are especially necessary. Some schools only provide aid for 4 years, so if kids aren’t kind of pushed into not “dragging it out,” they’ll end up with 4 years of credits, no more FA, and no degree. There’s a UCLA senior who recently posted who wasn’t aware of the 4 year FA limits and he was doing a double-major. He needs 1 or 2 more quarters to graduate and his FA stopped this last spring quarter. So kids need to be aware of both kinds of limits…limits on total credits and limits on FA. </p>

<p>And, of course, even those who aren’t on FA are getting a discount if this is an instate school. Taxpayers aren’t supposed to be subsidizing a whole bunch of extra classes. Some extra classes are fine, but a BS degree is typically 120 credits, so by giving limits of 140, that still allows some exploring of about 6 more classes. </p>

<p>Those who are coming in with AP/IB credits usually don’t have those credits counted. My son just graduated with about 170 credits…but that’s because he had 45 AP credits.</p>

[SGP]

<p>Thank you for looking! I’ll add Utah to the list.</p>

[SGP]

<p>"For those on financial aid, these kinds of rules are especially necessary. Some schools only provide aid for 4 years, so if kids aren’t kind of pushed into not “dragging it out,” they’ll end up with 4 years of credits, no more FA, and no degree. "</p>

<p>mom2collegekids – thanks for bringing up this very important point. I know someone who changed majors and is in this boat now. The tuition surcharge was a surprise.</p>