Tuition Surcharge - FAQ

What is the tuition surcharge? In 1993, the North Carolina General Assembly (Senate Bill 27--Section 89b) enacted legislation directing the Board of Governors to impose a 25% tuition surcharge on students who take more than 140 degree-credit hours to complete the first undergraduate baccalaureate degree in a four-year program or more than 110% of the credit hours necessary to complete a five-year program. In 1994, the legislation was modified (Senate Bill 1505--Section 17.10) to exempt students who complete the degree in eight regular term semesters or the equivalent (or ten semesters for a five-year program). In 2009 the General Assembly (Senate Bill 202 – Section 9.10b increased the surcharge rate from 25% to 50% beginning Fall 2010.

Who is affected by the tuition surcharge? All undergraduate degree-seeking students admitted to WCU beginning Fall 1994 are affected. The surcharge applies to transfer students and freshmen, in-state and out-of- state students. Students enrolled at WCU prior to Fall 1994 are exempt.

I am in a Distance Program will I be assessed the tuition surcharge? The surcharge applies to all undergraduate degree-seeking students including distance students.

What counts in the 140 hours allowed before the surcharge applies? The following are used to compute the 140 surcharge hours

a)      all regular semester degree-creditable courses taken at WCU including repeated courses, failed courses, and those dropped or withdrawn after the last date to add a course, and

b)      transfer credit hours except those taken at another UNC institution through summer school

Is there anything that doesn't count in the 140 hour limit? The following are excluded from the 140 surcharge hour limit: credits earned prior to graduating from high school; including all early college, dual enrollment, AP, IB  and CLEP credit, placement credit, summer term credits earned at a UNC institution.

How will transfer credit affect the 140 hour limit? All transfer credits will count toward the 140-hour limit except transfer credit earned during the summer term at another UNC school. However, because Western requires that twenty-five percent of the courses used to award a degree be earned from Western there is a cap used when calculating the surcharge. The cap varies by program. For programs that require 120 hours the cap is 90 hours. For programs that require 128 hours the cap is 98 hours.

What happens if a student attends summer school out-of-state or at a private school in North Carolina? Any credit earned at any institution except a UNC school will be counted in the 140- hour limit, including credits earned in summer school.

What if a student attends summer school at a community college in North Carolina? All credits earned at a community college (regular semester or summer school) count in the 140 hour limit.

What if a student has over 140 hours but graduates in 4 years or fewer? The 140 hour limit applies only to students who take longer than eight regular term semesters to earn a 4-year baccalaureate degree or ten regular term semesters in a degree program designated by the Board of Governors as a five-year program . (Western Carolina does not have any programs designated as five-year programs.)

I'm in my sixth semester at Western but spent two semesters at another school before transferring here. Do I owe a surcharge?  If in your next semester (your seventh semester at Western) you exceed the 140 hour limit you will be charged the surcharge.

How much will the tuition surcharge be? If a student has more than 140 hours the surcharge is 25%  of his or her tuition (only tuition, not fees). Effective Fall 2010 the surcharge amount is 50% of tuition. The surcharge applies to in-state tuition and out-of-state tuition.

If a student has 130 hours of credit and enrolls for 15 hours, will he or she have to pay a surcharge? How will it be computed? Yes, the student will have to pay a surcharge. He or she will be charged the tuition surcharge in the first semester in which enrollment exceeds 140 hours. The amount of the surcharge is based on the number of hours in excess of 140 hours. (The exact amount depends on the number of hours for which the student is enrolled and the number of excess hours.)

What happens if a student's degree program requires over 128 hours? None of Western Carolina University's baccalaureate programs require more than 128 hours. If a program were approved that required more than 128 hours the tuition surcharge would be assessed once a student exceeded 110% of the required hours for the degree.

How does the 140 hour surcharge rule apply to students seeking a second undergraduate degree? The surcharge will be applied when the student exceeds 110% of the minimum number of additional hours required for the second degree. For example, at WCU if the first degree required 120 hours and the second degree required 30 additional hours the surcharge would be applied to all hours in excess of 110% of the required hours, in this case 165 hours. The 140 hour surcharge rule, however, does not apply to non-degree students.

SPECIAL CASES

Visiting or Non-degree Students: The tuition surcharge applies only to baccalaureate degree-seeking students--not to visiting or non-degree students. However, if a visiting or non-degree student subsequently chooses to enroll as a baccalaureate degree-seeking student, the credit hours accepted for transfer by WCU and the regular session credit hours which the student earned while a non-degree or visiting student at WCU will be included in calculating the tuition surcharge. The fact that the student originally attended WCU as a visiting or non-degree student before Fall 1994 does not exempt him or her from the tuition surcharge if the student was admitted as a baccalaureate degree-seeking student Fall 1994 or later. If the non-degree student is admitted to seek a second baccalaureate degree, the hours earned in the first baccalaureate degree and the hours earned while a non-degree student are evaluated to determine the additional courses (credit hours) required for the second baccalaureate degree. The tuition surcharge is applied to the credit hours in excess of 110% of the additional credit hours determined to be necessary for the second baccalaureate degree.

[Special Thanks to East Carolina University who allowed us to adapt their FAQ to meet Western Carolina's needs.]