"Excess Hours" update

Here is an update on the Excess Hours legislation post from a few days ago:

According to the University of South Florida's Registrar's Office,

"The law provides for the following exceptions, in which instance the excess hours surcharge will be waived for additional college coursework taken:

1. Articulated accelerated credit (e.g. Advance Placement, International Baccalaureate, CLEP*, Dual Enrollment, etc.)

2. Internship credit

3. Certification/Recertification credit (e.g. teacher, nurses, etc.) and certificate program credits

4. Credits withdrawn due to medical or personal hardship

5. Credits taken by active-duty military personnel

6. Credits required to achieve a dual major (NOTE: the law only exempts those hours “required” to obtain a dual major, rather than every credit hour a dual major student chooses to enroll in.)

7. Remedial and English as a Second Language (ESOL) credit

8. Military Science credits in Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) programs"

*CLEP stands for College Level Examination Program, and it basically is a test you can take to earn credit for a course without taking it. To "CLEP out" of a course, you usually pay a test fee at your college/university's test center and proceed to take a test that covers information ("course objectives") that you would learn in whatever course you are trying to CLEP out of. Students take advantage of this exam usually for one main reason... to avoid paying for a class full of information they already know. This mainly happens if the CLEP test is a pre-requisite for another course you need.