Flat-Rate Tuition
In an effort to save students money throughout their OU career, a flat rate program for full-time undergraduates was implemented in fall 2013. The rate is based on OU's current 15 credit hour rate of tuition and hourly mandatory fees. Students registered in fewer than 12 hours will continue to pay on a per credit hour basis.
Benefits of Flat-Rate Tuition
Encourages students to graduate sooner which will:
- allow them to enter the workforce earlier and earn one or two years of additional income during their chosen careers.
- save them one or two years of room, board, transportation, and other college-related expenses.
- reduce student loan debt.
Flat-Rate Tuition Details
- Part-time students (enrolled in 1-11 hours) will be charged tuition on a per credit hour basis. Any undergraduate student registered in 12 or more hours* will be charged a flat rate based on the current 15 credit hour rate for tuition and hourly mandatory fees. Students are encouraged to take 15 or more hours in order to receive maximum benefit from flat-rate tuition.
- College program and technology, additional academic excellence, and course fees will be charged at a per credit hour rate.
- Flat-rate tuition does not apply to Graduate, Law, or Advanced Program students. In addition, students enrolled in only Liberal Studies courses are not subject to the flat rate. These students will be charged on a per credit hour basis for tuition and fees.
- Summer courses will continue to be charged on a per credit hour basis.
- Full-time undergraduate students who are registered for less than 30 hours for fall and spring (but pay the flat-rate) may be eligible to participate in the summer session incentive program (see Banked Hours section below).
Banked Hours
Full-time undergraduate students who are charged the flat rate and take fewer than 15 hours per semester may be able to bank hours to use in the summer. The hours a student has banked will automatically be used to reduce summer charges for tuition and mandatory hourly fees. Banked hours cannot be converted into cash or held for a future academic year.
- Students must be classified as undergraduates during the summer semester to be eligible to receive reduced charges for banked hours.
- Academic Excellence Fees, College Program and Technology Fees, Mandatory Semester Fees, and Course Specific Fees are not charged at the flat rate, and will not be covered
by banked hours. - Banked hours may not be used for developmental math (DMAT) courses.
- Courses outside of the Norman campus summer term will not be covered.
- Courses covered do include on-campus, online, and OU summer study abroad courses.
- Enrolled hours exceeding the number of hours banked will not be covered.
- No credit will be received for unused banked hours.
- Courses dropped after the add/drop period (at 0% refund) will count towards your enrollment total when determining banked hour eligibility.
Appeals
An appeals process has been established for students with special circumstances who are unable to enroll in 15 credit hours. The appeal form must be completed by the student and returned with documentation to the Office of the Bursar for review. These circumstances may include:
- Students with disabilities.
- Students with fewer than 15 hours remaining per semester until graduation.
- Students participating in a study abroad program.
- Students with temporary medical condition.
- Students who are under contractual agreements (academic and/or scholarship) with the university that limit enrollments to less than 15 credit hours.
- Students in official University sponsored activities to which he/she commits 25 or more hours per week for a substantial portion of the term.
- Students limited fewer than 15 credit hours due to their curricular structure.
- Students participating in an internship.
- Students with unforeseen circumstances that directly affect them.
A Flat Rate Appeals Committee has been established to review all Flat Rate Tuition Appeals. The committee consists of student representatives, Bursar and Financial Aid staff members, and Academic counselors. The committee reviews all appeals and documentation, and will notify students of their decision via email to their OU email account. The committee may request additional information from students as needed.
The committee requires documentation for all appeals. Types of acceptable documentation include, but are not limited to:
- Advisor Recommendation Form - available through a student's college level advisor
- Letter from Accessibility and Disability Resource Center
- Proof of study abroad plans/commitment
- Doctor's Note
- Copy of academic or scholarship contract which limits enrollment
- Letter from sponsor of a University activity
For more information please see the FAQs below.
Frequently Asked Questions
Flat-rate includes undergraduate tuition and mandatory hourly fees.
Flat-rate does not include the following:
- Course specific fees
- Academic Excellence fees
- College Program and Technology fees
- Mandatory Semester fees
Tuition and mandatory fees for a December session course will be covered by flat-rate tuition. You will see three (3) hours of new charges for the December session course, as well as a reduction of charges to maintain your semester flat-rate total. You will be responsible for any additional charges for the December session course that are outside of flat rate.
Graduate students will be charged the graduate rate unless enrolled in Law courses, which will be charged at the Law rate.
Undergraduate students will be charged the undergraduate rate for all the courses they take, regardless of the level of the courses. As undergrads, students will be subject to flat rate if they are enrolled in 12 hours or more.
You may contact your advisor to file a Flat-Rate Appeal. Should you not file an appeal, you will bank six (6) hours for the summer semester.
The banking option for students is based on 30 hours of registration for the fall and spring semesters. In this instance you would not bank summer hours.
Since your total enrollment for the academic year is greater than 30 hours, you will not qualify for an exemption in the spring, even though that semester you are in fewer than 15 hours. This is known as the "Rule of 30," and it follows the same rule that you would not bank when your enrollment totals 30 or greater hours.
You may be eligible to apply for the work assistance tuition waiver. This tuition waiver was established to help undergraduate students who work long hours to help pay for their education.
For more information and how to apply, go to:
https://www.ou.edu/content/scholarships/ou/work-assistance.html
The work assistance tuition waiver is awarded for the entire academic year when awarded in the fall semester. Should conditions of the scholarship not be met, the award is subject to reduction. Students can also apply for the spring only. For more information, go to: https://www.ou.edu/content/scholarships/ou/work-assistance.html or contact scholarships@ou.edu.
You may file an appeal to be exempt from flat-rate tuition.
No, you will not be able to use those hours toward graduate level work. Flat-rate tuition applies only to undergraduate students. You may apply for an exemption when you know that you will finish your degree in the spring and do not plan to be able to use those hours banked for summer.
No, hours banked will not roll from one summer to the next.
You are encouraged to find a replacement summer course to take advantage of your banked hours.
Adjustments to student accounts begin after the third week of classes. Once adjustments begin, they will be made within one week of your appeal being approved. Please check ONE.ou.edu to view your account status. You are responsible for your account, including any service charges incurred while waiting for an appeal to be processed.
No. Those hours count towards your total enrollment for the year, you will not be able to bank them.
No. All attempted hours count towards your total enrollment for the year. For example, should you enroll in 17 hours in fall and drop a 5-hour course with a "W," then enroll in 13 hours for the spring, your total attempted hours for the academic year would be 30 hours, and you would not be eligible to bank any hours for summer.
No. Your banked hours cover tuition (resident and non-resident) and hourly-mandatory fees only. The college program and technology fees, academic excellence fee, semester fee, and any other applicable course-charges are not included in banked hours. These were not previously charged at the flat rate during the fall or spring semesters.
Oklahoma’s Promise will cover the total amount of tuition charged, including the flat rate for students enrolled in 12 or more hours. When a student receiving Oklahoma’s Promise is granted an exemption from Flat-Rate Tuition, the amount of their award will be reduced to reflect the amount of tuition charged to that student at the hourly rate. This will cause an increase to the Bursar balance due to being originally awarded at the flat rate, and later changed to per-credit-hour charges.
For more information, please contact Student Financial Center at: (405) 325-9000, email sfc@ou.edu
