MAE A - Z Index

The Floating 45 Limit

The Policy

Affects only students who began college in the Fall of 1999 or after.
Affects only students who have not yet completed their 1st bachelor's degree.

These students are allowed to take the number of hours required for their intended degree plus 45 more at in-state tuition rates. All hours taken in excess of this limit will be billed at out-of-state, or nonresident, tuition rates.

Hours applied toward the limit: all state-funded hours taken at UTA or other Texas public institutions, including W's and F's.

Hours not applied:

-Technical/vocational, remedial, and developmental hours
-Hours taken at a private and/or out-of-state institution

Students are notified of the policy via letters sent from the Office of the Registrar once they accumulate 90 hours toward the limit and again when they accumulate 120 hours toward the limit. In addition, the University Advising Center sends letters to all undeclared students who have accumulated 120 hours toward the limit. The UAC also sends a memo to deans, associate deans, and departmental advisors to notify them of their students who have reached 120 or more hours toward the limit.
This policy is noted in the Undergraduate Catalog under "Degree Program Requirements" and students who attend Orientation are briefed by the Undergraduate Admissions Office.

Billing Issues
UTA has adopted a generous policy that gives the student the greatest possible opportunity to take advantage of in-state rates. In the semester in which the student reaches the CB hour count, UTA will bill him/her at out-of-state rates for all hours; however, if the student notifies The Office of the Registrar, s/he will be charged in-state rates for all hours in that semester only. From that point forward, the student will have exceeded the limit and will be charged out-of-state rates. For example, if the above student (on a 120 hour degree plan) has earned 164 hours, and enrolls in 18 hours, his entire tuition that semester will be billed at in-state rates once he makes the request for The Office of the Registrar to recalculate his tuition.

Maymester courses are grouped with Summer courses and Wintersession courses are grouped with Spring courses for in-state/out-of-state billing purposes. Using the same example as above, the 3 hours the student takes in Maymester will be billed at in-state rates once he notifies The Office of the Registrar. Therefore, this student would have 20 hours beyond 165 at in-state rates.

For additional information on the Floating 45 Limit, consult:

http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/statutes/ed.toc.htm, sections 54.068 and 61.0595

Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, Chapter 13: Financial Planning (Subchapter F: Formula Funding and Tuition Charged for Excess Credit Hours of Undergraduate Students)

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