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Excessive Hours

Undergraduate Excessive Hours

Texas Education Code §54.014 specifies a maximum number of semester credit hours an undergraduate student may attempt while paying Texas resident tuition.  Students who exceed the maximum hour limitations will be charged the non-resident tuition rate.

Maximum Hour Limitations:

  • First term in Texas public institution prior to fall 1999 – Exempt
  • First term in Texas public institution from fall 1999 to summer 2006 – 45 hours over degree program
  • First term in Texas public institution from fall 2006 to the present date – 30 hours over degree program

Attempted Hours Include:

  • Earned and unearned hours (including non-passing grades)
  • Withdrawn courses (includes administrative/ non-academic)
  • Repeated courses

Hours Excluded:

  • Credit hours excluded from the student record due to an election of admission under Academic Fresh Start
  • Credit hours earned from courses taken before receiving a previously-awarded baccalaureate degree
  • Credit hours earned by examination (AP, CLEP, IB, or SAT II)
  • Credit from remedial and developmental courses
  • Credit hours taken at a private institution or an out-of-state institution
  • Credit hours taken as dual-credit prior to high school graduation

For detailed information regarding excessive hours, including the economic hardship policy, please refer to Texas State UPPS 03.01.17.

Doctoral Excess Hours (99 hour Rule)

In accordance with Texas Education Code §54.012, the university will incur a penalty once a doctoral student accumulates 100 or more doctoral semester credit hours.  In response, the Texas State University System has a new tuition structure (excessive hours fee) in which a doctoral student will be charged tuition at a rate equivalent to non-resident tuition for all doctoral semester credit hours exceeding 99.  Courses taken by a doctoral student at the master’s or undergraduate level will not count towards the 99 hours.  If the student is admitted to a doctoral program from the bachelor’s degree, the count begins after 30 hours of graduate coursework.  This tuition structure applies to Texas residents as well as out-of-state residents and international students who were eligible to be charged tuition at the resident rate as a result of scholarship and fellowship awards or employment as Graduate Assistants.  Students should contact the Ph.D. Program Director regarding this appeal process.