For the majority of Longwood University students, taking more than 150 credit hours is nothing to worry about. But for others, it's a possibility. Because of a Virginia state law enacted by the General Assembly in March 2008, public universities are required to charge a student an extra fee if he or she takes more than 125 percent of their required credit hours.
Even though the dubbed "125% Rule" has been in place for a while now, students were reminded of the fact on April 7 when President Patrick Finnegan sent out an e-mail message. He said in the e-mail that the note was to alert students to something "that could, but is not likely to, affect you."
Since the majority of majors at Longwood require only 120 credit hours for study completion, this would mean most students would need to take more than 150 credits to be in violation of the rule. For majors that require more than 120 hours, that percentage is applied to the number of needed credits. For example, if 135 hours were needed, that number would be multiplied by 125 percent. This means that a student would have to take more than 168 to be in violation of the rule. Still, many students are capable of double majoring without exceeding the 150 credit hours.
Verbatim, the law, Section 23-7.4:F of the Code of Virginia states, "After August 1, 2006, all students who enroll at a public, baccalaureate degree-granting, institution of higher education in Virginia and who have established Virginia domicile and eligibility for in-state tuition in compliance with this section, the entitlement to in-state tuition shall be modified to require the assessment of a surcharge, as defined herein, for each semester that the student continues to be enrolled after such student has completed 125% of the credit hours needed to satisfy the degree requirements for a specified undergraduate program." The same code establishes rules for in-state tuition eligibility.
"The bark is worse than the bite on this," said Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Ken Perkins. "It sounds like the sky is about to fall on a number of students. That doesn't appear to be the case."
The primary reason for this rule is the Commonwealth wants to see college students graduate in a timely manner. "The state I think is concerned about space in Virginia universities and having enough space for incoming students," said Perkins. He said the state more or less believes a student should basically pay out-of-state rates after exceeding the 125 percent mark on their number of credit hours.
With the rule violation, a surcharge is placed on each credit hour a student takes. That fee is set at $290 for Longwood, according to Jessica Conwell, Administrative & Office Specialist for Student Accounts, which along with the Registrar's Office is involved in the implementation of the policy and answering any questions.
There are a few exceptions to the rule. Excluded from the rule are remedial courses, transfer credits from another college or university that do not meet degree requirements for general education courses or the chosen program of study, advanced placement or international baccalaureate credits that were obtained while in high school or another secondary school program and dual enrollment, or college-level credits.
If a student does approach or exceed the threshold, all hope is not lost. There is an appeals form that can be filled out. The form has a section for showing any circumstances affecting student performance or completion of a term and a section to check a reason for academic programs that may require additional courses such as double-majors or a major change. One of the reasons for the circumstances being listed on the form is because the credit hours are inclusive of attempted hours, not just completed.
The law also states that each institution may waive the surcharge for students who go over the threshold set by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV). Such waiver criteria "may include, but shall not be limited to, illness or disability and active service in the armed forces of the United States."
Perkins said, "From my understanding, the institution grants the exceptions within the guidelines." He said it does not appear that the appeals form decisions are made on a "case by case" basis.
Many students will not be affected by the percentage rule, but for some it is something to keep an eye on. Perkins said the Registrar's Office and the Office of Cashiering & Student Accounts is watching a few students who are getting close to that threshold. "It sounds worse than it actually is," Perkins added.
