Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion
KP-0053
| Tex. Att'y Gen. | Jul 2, 2015Background
- Texas B-On-Time Loan Program provides no-interest loans and permits forgiveness if statutory requirements are met under TEX. EDUC. CODE §56.462.
- Section 56.462(2) allows forgiveness where the student earns a baccalaureate degree with GPA ≥ 3.0 and total semester credit hours not more than six hours over the degree minimum.
- Student graduated with a 120-hour degree requirement, a 3.03 GPA, and 121 credited hours (including >10% credited as Life/Work Experience).
- The student also took 36 additional credit hours at a different public university while enrolled, allegedly to maintain employment; those 36 hours were not counted by the degree-granting institution toward the degree.
- The question presented: should the Board forgive the B-On-Time loan when the extra hours were earned at another institution and not counted by the degree-granting institution?
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether credit hours earned at another institution but not counted by the degree-granting institution must be included in the §56.462 total-hours calculation | Student: Only hours counted toward the awarded degree should be included; student meets §56.462(2) because degree-granting institution credited 121 hours (≤ degree +6) | Board: Additional hours taken elsewhere could be counted toward total hours and might disqualify forgiveness | Held: A court would likely treat only hours credited by the degree-granting institution as part of the §56.462 total; the extra 36 hours not counted by that institution do not disqualify forgiveness |
| Whether hours taken for employment maintenance change forgiveness eligibility | Student: Hours taken to maintain job were outside degree calculation and thus irrelevant | Board: Purpose of hours irrelevant if statute requires counting all semester hours | Held: Because §56.462’s exclusions and references turn on hours counted toward the awarded baccalaureate, employment-related outside hours not credited by the degree institution do not bar forgiveness |
Key Cases Cited
- None — the opinion primarily interprets the B-On-Time statute and relies on statutory text and related Education Code definitions rather than reported case law.