My son was recently accepted for fall. We are OOS and are trying to understand the degree requirement to take 9 summer credits. It seems like nothing more than a revenue raiser. Is there some other legitimate purpose behind it that I am missing? My son has no desire to take summer classes and this requirement will likely take UF out of consideration.
It was a requirement back in 90s when I attended USF. It’s a Florida thing. I was told it was justify the campuses being open year round. We were able to take classes near our homes at other Florida colleges or community colleges.you can also fill the requirement with study abroad or online courses. ( I’m old so back then we had Tele-courses which were on PBS at like 3amor you take them out of library on VHS.) lol
Some typical ways to get the requirement waived:
Completed a summer internship
Participated in military training and/or operations during the summer.
Completed 6 hours of Study Abroad course work
A student athlete that must attend summer training camps and/or sports related events.
Experiencing financial hardship.
Program does not offer courses during the summer.
“Other”.
I’ve read that you can also do it online.
State of Florida is trying to get students off a 5 or even 6 year graduation track…moving to more of a 4 year track.
It is a state of Florida requirement, not an uf requirement.
@ufmomfriend Thanks, but if then why is the requirement not fulfilled by AP credits? If enrolled, my son would bring more than a full semester’s worth of credits toward his degree and would most likely complete in four years or less. From what I can tell, his AP credits would not allow him to waive out of the summer requirement. Forcing summer classes, whether completed in person or online, seems aimed at increasing state revenue and not much more.
While increasing summer enrollment does help generate tuition revenue, that’s not the reason the State of Florida created this requirement.
Two of the states main objectives are to increase the number of degrees awarded,while also decreasing the cost per degree. By increasing summer enrollment, you decrease the average time to graduation, which free’s up more slots for students. Having more students taking advantage of the state university system’s resources, also reduces the average cost per degree.
Keep in mind that this same focus on keeping student expenses low, is why Florida has such low in-state tuition rates. I may not agree with every action the state takes, but I do fully support their efforts to keep the cost of earning a degree affordable. 
Given the summer requirement and the fact that so many qualified students come in with AP/DE credit, I’m curious if a large percentage graduate early. I would think 3 years would be common enough w the summer requirement in Florida.
I think this sums it up pretty well. It’s much less expensive to increase the number of students by more effectively utilizing existing resources than it is to build new infrastructure to accommodate the students on a Fall/Spring system.
You may have a point, although I suspect that AP and DE credit is already baked into the policy. If we assume that the average FL student carries 6-9 AP/IB/DE credits that can be applied towards their degree, then the 9 credit summer requirement means that the student is off-campus one full Fall or Spring semester. Resources that could have been used for that student can be applied to another student, increasing the overall number of students that benefit while minimizing the incremental cost.
Overall, I think FL is doing a great job in making sure that HS students have access to free AP, IB, and DE courses. If the price for this is a 9-credit Summer, online, or study abroad requirement, then I’m willing to pay it. From what I can tell, ~200,000 students graduate HS each year, and the number is growing. If we want to make 4-year degrees available to any student that has the desire and aptitude to earn them, then the state needs to carefully manage its resources to keep it affordable.
@my2caligirls A lot do graduate early.
It’s really based on major. For example, both of my kids ended up with 45 credits (the max UF will award for AP/IB/AICE, etc.), but will still likely take the full 4 years to graduate. Most of those credits help with electives, but not with many of the critical tracking courses required in engineering.
For example, my son (who’s a current freshman) was able to skip 3 critical tracking courses (Chemistry, Calculus 1 &2), the 6 credits of composition requirement (ENC 1101 and 1102), and various elective requirements. He’s still at best only 1 semester ahead of schedule, based on the Aerospace Engineering curriculum plan.
On the other hand, my daughter has HS friends that graduate in less than 4 years, and in some cases with dual degrees (especially those in the college of liberal Arts and sciences, which is very “dual/double” degree friendly).
Also, some degrees take the standard 120 credit hours, where others can take 128+ (as is the case for many of the engineering degrees).
Back to the summer requirement.
My daughter will end up having it waived, as she’s would have worked two summer engineering internships. My son may enroll in this upcoming Summer session, because he wants to take a class (Design and Manufacturing Laboratory) that’s going to help him with his design team work in the fall.
@caveatesq
I know it seems unfair in a manner, but it is a matter of economics I believe, in the long run benefiting most. Many…very many…students either don’t or can’t graduate in 4 years. It is easy to get these 9 credits thru online classes. It is a great way to open up your schedule to give more flexibility with registration. Some students take advantage of this requirement to take perhaps more difficult courses that they don’t want to take with other courses during spring or fall. Some use it to take pesky gen ed courses to get them out of the way. Some use it to get ahead by taking prerequisites. It can also make a double major or an additional minor possible. For instate students, bright futures will be paying (at least for this summer) tuition for summer classes. It CAN interfere with summer plans, but many internships and study abroad programs count also. Good luck and best wishes!