New legislation caps undergraduate programs at 120 hours

Gov. Mitch Daniels signed House Enrolled Act 1220, a bill aimed at curbing “credit creep” and streamlining students’ college experiences, on March 16.

The new legislation, which will take effect July 1, will require public four-year colleges in Indiana to limit bachelor’s degree programs to 120 credit hours. These 120 credit hours are equivalent to a full-time student taking 15 credit hours per semester for a four-year period.

A press release from Daniels’ office stated that nearly 90 percent of Indiana college degree programs currently require more than 120 credit hours. Universities will be required to gain approval from the Indiana Commission for Higher Education for any degree program requiring more than 120 hours. Approval will be reserved mostly for programs requiring extra credit hours for licensure and accreditation, as well as other circumstances.

“At a time when higher education has never been more important, earning a college degree is taking Hoosiers too long, costing them too much, and leading far too many to pile up debt with no degree,” Daniels said in the press release.

Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education Sonya Stephens said the legislation is regulated by good intentions but will require creativity on the University’s part to balance the new limitation and the quality of education the school has traditionally delivered.

The new limits will affect most, if not all, the undergraduate programs IU offers. All the majors in the College of Arts and Sciences require a minimum of 122 credit hours. A Bachelor of Science in Business from the Kelley School of Business requires a minimum of 124 hours.

“This is happening in other states, too,” Stephens said. “But the real issue for us is not that this is coming now, but that this is coming with another bill, one that imposes statewide general education requirements.”

The University remains unsure exactly how this bill will affect curriculum on-campus, but Stephens said it will potentially affect the campus-wide core curriculum implemented in summer 2011.

If what are currently considered IU’s core curriculum classes are not included in what the state sets as its general education requirements, IU will have to move those classes elsewhere.

This will cut into a program’s 120-hour limits. Collectively, Stephens said, the core curriculum bill and HEA 1220 have the potential to squeeze the University at both ends as it makes new requirements for core classes but limits available credit hours.

Stephens said the credit hour cap also limits students’ ability to explore disciplines not offered at the high-school level.

“That exploration is really what college is about, and this sends the message that you have to finish as quickly as possibly and get out and get a job,” she said.

Jason Bearce, associate commissioner for strategic communications and initiatives with the Commission for Higher Education, said students will still have the opportunity to surpass the 120-credit hour limit.

Students can take as many credit hours as they want, he said, since the limit is more about preventing colleges from requiring students to take an exorbitant number of hours prior to degree completion.

“The bottom line at the state level is making sure colleges are focused on improving college completion rates,” Bearce said. “The state wants to know the university isn’t just having the hours for the sake of having hours.”

At the same time, Bearce said, the state wants students to be focused on graduation, which in turn will keep tuition costs and debt from student loans under control.

“If you’re going to school full-time, you should be taking 15 credit hours a semester,” he said. “If students take less, there’s no way they’re going to graduate on time.