Several states and public colleges use aid policies to encourage students who have accumulated large numbers of credit hours to finish their degrees. Here is a sample of their approaches:
Florida
Students who receive the state’s Bright Futures merit-based scholarship become ineligible for the award after completing 110 percent of the credit hours required for their degrees or after seven years, whichever comes first. The Legislature is expected to approve changes that would lower the cutoff to 100 percent or five years.
Illinois
Eligibility for state need-based aid, the Monetary Award Program, is limited to 135 credit hours. The University of Illinois cuts off students’ institutional aid after they are enrolled for 150 percent of the normal time it would take to get a degree.
North Carolina
The University of North Carolina imposes a 25-percent tuition surcharge on undergraduates who take more than 140 credit hours while pursuing degrees in four-year programs. Starting this fall, the surcharge will increase to 50 percent.
Texas
After 150 credit hours, students enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin lose state and institutional aid unless they apply for, and receive, an exception or are in a particularly intensive program, such as architecture or pharmacy. The popular “B-On-Time” student-loan program offered by the state forgives students’ loans if they graduate within four years with a 3.0 grade-point average or higher; otherwise the loan must be repaid.
Virginia
After completing 125 percent of the credit hours needed to satisfy their programs’ degree requirements, students at Virginia’s public colleges must pay 100 percent of the average cost of their education at their institution. Most state scholarship programs are limited to four years.
