recent Florida legislation regarding credit hours

If anyone lives in the sunshiny state of Florida then there is new state-wide legislation that you NEED to be aware of. The first time I heard of this was at my USF orientation... needless to say I was shocked, discouraged, and pissed all at once. This legislation applies to all Florida public universities.

It's called EXCESS HOURS [Florida Statute 1009.286]:
- "Fall Semester 2012 and beyond  admits will pay double the tuition rate for each credit hour either beyond 132 for students in a 120-hour degree program or 110% in excess of the hours required." (source: http://www.registrar.usf.edu/regurl/os/excess)




 With budget crises happening in nearly every state in the American union, state governments are being forced to cut funds and find money in every nook and cranny of their budget. The thought-process in Florida legislator's minds goes something like, "There are students who have upwards of 180 credit hours without a degree. These students are taking away classroom seats from incoming students who need the hours."

  Be aware of your state's legislation, laws and statutes by checking the State House and State Senate websites that apply to you. Check the Senate page for more solidified statutes, and check the State House site for things that are coming up.. if you keep on it you can mobilize a campaign to keep legislation like Excess Hours out of your state, and ultimately save you money if you aren't quite sure what you want to major in. (If you have Twitter, local leaders almost always have one! Besides, how many people really follow local leaders? If you keep tweeting them I believe it is the most direct way to get your thoughts across)


MY MISTAKE: Well, this doesn't really qualify as a mistake because nearly all college students changed their major at least once, but I wish I would have not taken the easy route. I originally enrolled in community college to complete a nursing program and get my RN license with a two-year degree. While the program is quite competitive I did all of the Nursing-ONLY pre-requisites because I did not think I needed anything else since I was not planning on transferring for a higher baccalaureate degree. There are options, of course, according to your institution's advising guides, and I HIGHLY recommend considering all of your options.

For example, let's take my big uh-oh [that I am currently facing] with chemistry. The nursing pre-req requirement for chemistry would be satisfied by taking either CHM1032+L "Chemistry for Health Sciences" (with a concurrent lab), or CHM1045+L "College Chemistry I". Now with CHM1045 there is a pre-req course required to register which is CHM1025+L "Modern Chemistry"... but I thought, "ehh, I'm not planning on transferring so I'll take the health science chemistry so I can hurry and apply to the nursing program."  Ultimately, I never applied to the program for 2 reasons:
1) I did not think I was competitive enough as an applicant, and
2) If I was admitted, by the time I would've graduated from the program I could have received a 4-yr bachelor's degree from the local university.


So not only does CHM1032+L not count towards CHM1045+L, but I had to go back and take CHM1025+L and essentially waste 4 credit hours which now will add up at the end of my undergraduate career, AND ultimately I will be in EXCESS of 120 credit hours without completing my upper-level degree requirements. In short, I will pay more near the end especially now that this excess hours legislation went through AND dwindling financial aid (the more credits you earn the less $ you get from federal funds). 

MY ADVICE: Don't take the easy route! If you have any doubts about your major, PLAN AHEAD. You don't want to take a course designed specifically for one major if there is an option for another course that a) satisfies your requirement, and b) can be used for other majors.