Overload Registration & Charges

The credit hour limit for most graduate and undergraduate students is 18 hours. Any enrolled credit hours, including withdrawn hours, over 18 will be charged at the per credit hour rate in addition to full-time tuition. Students enrolled full-time are charged a flat tuition rate based on their academic career, academic program, and academic plan, plus the respective per credit hour rate for any enrolled hours over their maximum limit, which can be found in the chart below.

Any enrolled or withdrawn credit hour(s) over 18 count towards overload charges. Some programs have exceptions to this rule, which are listed under "Exceptions" below. Withdrawing from classes after the end of the refund period, then adding new courses, is a frequent cause of overload charges.

It is encouraged that you discuss these options with your academic advisor and Enrollment Services before making schedule changes. Please review your student schedule and ensure that your total credit hours, including withdrawn credit hours, will not exceed the 18 hour limit per semester and result in additional charges before adding a new course.

Overload credit hours are charged at the per credit hour rate in addition to full-time tuition. If you are enrolled in an academic program that assesses a program fee, this fee will also be assessed at the per credit hour rate. The standard credit hour rates are listed below and program fees can be found on the Office of the Bursar's website, as well as nonstandard rates for specific programs.

To calculate overload charges, find your full-time tuition rate based on your college or program on the page listed above. Then, find your part-time tuition rate and multiply by the number of hours you are taking that exceed 18. Add the per credit hour rate for your excess hours to the full-time rate.

Certain classes have enrolled credit hours, but no fees. Other courses are assessed special fees.

Example: If you are taking 18 credit hours plus ENSM 2071 (Bearcat Marching Band), you will be enrolled in 19 credit hours, but only pay your full-time tuition rate.

Example: Bobby Bearcat is enrolled in 16 credit hours then withdraws from a three credit hour course after the 100% refund period. He will be billed for 16 credit hours since he withdrew after the refund period, even though his enrollment credit hours dropped to 13. Bobby then decides to add another three credit hour course that will increase his enrollment to 19 credit hours and cause a tuition overload charge of one credit hour to be added to his semester bill.

Bobby is a Arts & Sciences student, an Ohio resident, and majoring in Communications, therefore, his standard full-time tuition is $5,500 for the semester. His overload charge, assessed at the per credit hour rate, is $459. His total tuition charges for the semester are $5,959.

Example: Suzie Bearcat requests permission from her academic advisor to enroll in 21 credit hours for a semester. She is a Ohio resident from the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, which assesses a program fee.

Suzie's full-time tuition charges for the semester are $6,004 ($5,500 plus a program fee of $504). Her per credit hour rate, based on her college, is $501 ($459 plus a program fee of $42). Because she will be taking 3 overload credit hours, her total overload charges are $1,503. Suzie's total semester tuition is $7,507.