Excess Hours

The Florida Legislature implemented Section 1009.286, Florida Statutes to encourage students to complete their baccalaureate degree as quickly and efficiently as possible. It established what is commonly referred to as an "Excess Credit Hour Surcharge." The bill requires universities to add a surcharge to each credit hour taken in excess of the total hours calculated, based on a percentage defined in law:

Semester you enrolled UF or any Florida Public Postsecondary Institution as an undergraduateFees to be Charged
Prior to Fall 2009NONE
Fall 2009 - Summer 201150% for credits above 120% of total program hours
Fall 2011 - Summer 2012100% for credits above 115% of total program hours
Fall 2012 - Spring 2019100% for credits above 110% of total program hours
Summer 2019 - Current100% for credits above 120% of total program hours

The surcharge percentage is determined by your start date. The surcharge is 100 percent of the current tuition rate in addition to the normal tuition rate on each credit over the limit.

What Credit Hours Count Toward Excess Credit Hours

  • Failed Courses
  • Hours dropped after the drop/add period
  • Courses from which a student withdraws
  • Repeated courses unless the student has paid the repeat course surcharge
  • All credit earned at another institution and accepted for transfer and applied toward your major at the time you were admitted to UF

UF will refund the assessed excess hour surcharge up to 12 credit hours to any student who enrolls at UF as a freshman and has completed a baccalaureate degree program within four years of initial enrollment.

Excess Credit Hour Counter

UF has an excess credit-hour counter to track the number of credit hours a student has attempted that apply toward the excess hours’ limit. To view this counter, go to ONE.UF. The counter automatically updates each time a student enrolls in a credit that counts toward the excess hours’ baseline limit.

Credit hours that do not count toward excess hours

Excess Hours FAQs

When you elect to change your major, there may be a change to the number of credits included in your total hours toward the degree program. For example, if you change majors from a 128-credit program to a 120-credit program, your threshold will be based upon the 128 credits multiplied by threshold percentage shown in the chart above.

These are treated as 120-credit hour programs for purposes of calculating the excess hours limit.

Excess hour surcharges associated with courses required to complete your second degree/major that are NOT also required to complete the first degree/major will be temporarily excluded from your total accumulated limit until it is determined that graduation with both degrees/majors has been confirmed. Once confirmed, the second degree/major credit hours will be permanently exempted. If not confirmed, the second degree/major credit hours will be retroactively assessed the excess hour surcharge for all credit hours that were temporarily excluded. Non-payment of this surcharge will prevent the release of diplomas and transcripts.

Yes, if the credits earned during the first baccalaureate degree apply to the second baccalaureate degree they will be counted in the excess credit hour calculation for the second baccalaureate degree. Any credits attempted that may not be utilized for the second baccalaureate degree are excluded.

Internships, whether optional or required, are excluded from your counter. However, it can be difficult to identify internships on the academic record of a student, especially when taken at another institution. If you feel that your excess credit hour counter includes internship hours, contact your academic advisor.

Yes, graduate courses count toward your excess hours limit if they are taken while pursuing your baccalaureate degree and you have not been approved for a combined-degree program. Combined-degree graduate credit that is used for the undergraduate and graduate degree will be excluded.

All credit attempted while on active duty is exempt from the Excess Credit Hour Law.