Sec. 54.014. TUITION FOR REPEATED OR EXCESSIVE UNDERGRADUATE HOURS. (a) An institution of higher education may charge a resident undergraduate student tuition at a higher rate than the rate charged to other resident undergraduate students, not to exceed the rate charged to nonresident undergraduate students, if before the semester or other academic session begins the student 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 30 hours the number of semester credit hours required for completion of the degree program in which the student is enrolled. For purposes of this subsection, an undergraduate student who is not enrolled in a degree program is considered to be enrolled in a degree program or programs requiring a minimum of 120 semester credit hours, including minors and double majors, and for completion of any certificate or other special program in which the student is also enrolled, including a program with a study-abroad component. An institution of higher education that charges students tuition at a higher rate under this subsection may adopt a policy under which the institution exempts from the payment of that higher rate a student that is subject to the payment of the higher rate solely as a result of hardship as determined by the institution under the policy.

(b) Semester credit hours or other credit listed in Section 61.0595(d) is not counted in determining the number of semester credit hours previously attempted by a student for purposes of Subsection (a).

(c) Subsection (a) applies only to the tuition charged to a student who initially enrolled as an undergraduate student in an institution of higher education during or after the 1999 fall semester, except that the institution of higher education may not require a student who initially enrolls as an undergraduate student in an institution of higher education before the 2006 fall semester to pay higher tuition as permitted by Subsection (a) until the number of semester credit hours previously attempted by the student as described by that subsection exceeds the number of semester credit hours required for the student's degree program by at least 45 hours.

(d) In its appropriations to institutions of higher education, the legislature shall compute the local funds available to each institution as if the tuition collected under Subsections (a) and (f) were not collected.

(e) Each institution of higher education shall inform each new undergraduate student enrolling at the institution in writing of the limitation provided by this section on the number of hours or type of courses that a Texas resident is entitled to complete while paying tuition at the rate provided for Texas residents.

(f) An institution of higher education may charge a resident undergraduate student tuition at a higher rate than the rate charged to other resident undergraduate students, not to exceed the rate charged to nonresident undergraduate students, for any course in which the student enrolls that is the same as or substantively identical to a course for which the student previously completed. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall adopt a rule that exempts a resident undergraduate student from this subsection if the student enrolls in a course that is the same as or substantially similar to a course that the student previously completed, solely as a result of a hardship or other good cause.

Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1073, Sec. 1.08, eff. Aug. 1, 1997. Amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 6, Sec. 2, eff. April 8, 1999.

Transferred from Education Code, Section 54.068 by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 888 (S.B. 1528), Sec. 8, eff. September 1, 2005.