Hon. George W. McNiel 

State Auditor 

Sam Houston Building 

Austin, Texas 78711 

Dear Mr. McNiel: 

Opinion No. M-1134 

Re: Computation of semester credit 

hours at public junior colleges for state aid purposes 

and related questions. 

Your request for an opinion from this office regarding 

the captioned matter asks the following: 

"1. Do the provisions of Paragraph 3(c), 

Section 16, Article IV of Senate Bill No. 11, 

Acts 62nd Legislature, R.S., 1971 (as amended 

by Senate Bill No. 7, 1st C.S., 6Znd Legislature, 1971)l requiring collection of tuition 

in full on or before the twelfth class day as 

specified mean that all semester credit hours 

for which the student is enrolled should be 

deducted from the number of semester credit 

ho:ars reported for State aid purposes if 

tuition is not collected in full! or should 

only the number of semester credit hours for 

which tuition has not been collected be 

deducted in instances where there is a 

partial collection of tuition? 

2 Are we correct in assuming that the 

provizions of Paragraph 3(c) Section 16, 

Article IV of Senate Bill NoI 11, Acts 62nd 

Legislature, R.S., 1971 (as amended by Senat 

Bill No. 7, 1st C.S. 62nd Legislature, 1971) 2 

do not apply to vocational-technical contact 

hours reported for funding through the Texas 

Central Education Agency under provisions 

' This is the current General Appropriation Act. Para. 3(c) is 

at p, 3692, IV-20, of the official bound vol. of the Session Laws. 

2 See footnote 1 

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  . ._ ,,., ,.~,.., . ~. _~ . _._ 

Hon. George W. McNiel, page 2 (M-1134) 

of Section 1, Article IV, Senate Bill No. 11, 

Acts 62nd Legislature, R.S., 1971 (as amended 

by Senate Bill No. 7, 1st C.S., 62nd Legislature, 1971)?3 

“3. In instances where ,a governing board 

establishes tuition in amounts which are greater 

than the rates specified in Section 54.051, 

Texas Education Code, but the institution fails 

to collect such amount in full as set by the 

governing board but does collect at least as 

much as the amount required under Section 54.051, 

Texas Education Code, should any portion of 

such semester credit hours be disallowed for 

State aid purposes?” 

As a final inquiry you have stated that in relation to the 

above, you “have observed a number of clerical errors in computing 

the amount of tuition due” and inquire whether the college forfeits 

that which it has not collected in full, as required? on or before 

the twelfth class day of the fall semester of each fiscal year. 

,In connection with your audit responsibilities, we answer 

your questions as follows: 

For purposes of state-aid appropriations, 

all semester credit hours in academic courses 

m which a student is enrolled shall be deducted from the number of semester credit hours 

so reported by a public junior college unless 

the entire tuition (as set by the governing 

board of the institution) is collected in full 

by the institution on or before the twelfth 

class day of the fall semester of the fiscal 

year, tuition fees received for vocationaltechnical courses not to be included in the 

report for such funding. 

Your letter indicates that your office has interpreted 

the provisions of Paragraph 3(c) to mean that if a student’s tuition 

wasn’t paid in full by the twelfth day as specified, the entire 

number of semester credit hours for which the student was enrolled 

were to be deducted from the number of semester credit hours reported 

3 At p. 3673, IV-l, et seq., of the official Session Laws. 

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i . . 

Hon. George W. McNiel, ,page 3 (M-1134,) 

for state aid purposes even though some portion of the tuition 

had been paid. We hold this interpretation is correct. 

The construction given Paragraph 3(c) by the State,Auditor 

is entitled to great weight. This canon of construction is stated 

as follows : 

“The courts will ordinarily adopt and uphold 

a construction placed on a statute by an executive 

officer or department charged with its administration, if the statute is ambiguous or uncertain, 

and if the construction so given it is reasonable. 

In other words , ,the’judiciary will adhere to the 

executive or departmental construction of an ambiguous statute unless it is clearly erroneous 

or unsound, or unless it will result in serious 

hardship ‘or injustice, 

. 

though the court might 

otherwise have been, Inclined to place a different 

construction on the act:” 53 Tex.Jur.2d 259-60, 

Statutes, Sec. 177. 

See also, Armco Steel Corp. v. Texas Employment Commission, 386 

S.W.2d 894 ,(Tex.Civ,App.l965, error ref. ,n.r.e.); United States 

v. 525 Company 242 F.2d 759 ‘(5th Cir. 1965) and Attorney General’s 

Opinions Nos. M-1029 (1971) and M-1050 (1972). 

‘The language of Paragraph 3(c) (with certain exceptions 

therein s,pecified) is quite explicit in requiring the public junior 

college to collect in full on or before.the twelfth class day of 

the fall semester the amounts its governing board has set ‘for tuition; 

There are no provisions giving you authority to credit the school 

for those hours taken by the student for which the institution has 

partially collected tuition, and deducting those hours for which 

tuition has not been,collected on or before the twelfth class day 

of the fall semester. 

Yours is a reasonable interpretation of the statute to 

accomplish the purposes for which it is intended; and, in view of 

its plain language, as ,heretofore mentioned, your construction and 

interpretation is sound and should be followed. 

Accordingly, if the institution has not collected that 

tuition (as set by its governing board) ,in full on or before the 

twelfth calss day of the fall semester for which a student is enrolled, then all semester credit hours for whic,h that student is 

enrolled shalI-6e deducted from the report for state aid purposes. 

This answers both your first and third questions. 

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Hon. George W. McNiel, page 4 (M-1134) 

Your second question asks whether the provisions of 

Paragra,ph 3(c), Section 1, Article IV of Senate Bill No. 11, 

Acts 62nd Leg., R. S. 1971, apply to vocational-technical contact 

hours reported for funding through the Texas Central Education 

Agency. Your letter states that your interpretation has been 

that it does not. We concur for the same reasons based on the 

authorities we have cited. 

Article IV, Section 15 Item 21 of the General Appropriation Act of 19714 provides that those approved vocational-technical 

courses must be financed by funds appropriated therefor and administered by the Central Education Agency. The provisions of 

Paragraph 3(c) are intended to give the Legislature a method by 

which it can inform itself of certain’matters with reference to 

appropriations for the needs of the public ,junior colleges as to 

its financial burdens based upon student enrollment for academic 

semester credit hours. The vocational-technical courses offered 

in terms of contact hours generated are funded elsewhere in the 

General Appropriations Act and are based upon an entirely different 

method of reporting. 

Therefore, the provisions of Paragraph 3(c) do not apply 

to vocational-technical courses that are funded through the Texas 

Central Education Agency. 

Your final inquiry concerns failure to comply with the 

statute by reason of “clerical errors.” This directory statute 

does not declare an automatic forfeiture or loss of sums by the 

college where its. failure to collect in full is due to mere unintentional clerical errors. Forfeitures and penalties are favored 

neither in law nor in equity and are to be strictly construed! and 

a “construction of statutes so as to impose forfeitures for violation of civic and public obligations is not favored” and “statutes 

will be interpreted so as to prevent, rather than to cause, a 

forfeiture. ” 25 Tex.Jur.Zd 511, Forfeitures, Sec. 11, P, 502, 

Sec. 3. We note that the general rule, is “. . . that administrative 

authorities have power to correct clerical errors in their determinations, and to . . , modify them on the grounds of fraud or imposition, 

mistake, . . . inadvertence. , .‘I 42 Am.Jur. 537, Public, Administrative Law, Set,. 174. The legislative intent concerning clerical errc 

4 At p. 3676, IV-4. 

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Hon. George W. McNiel;~page 5; (M~1134) ~, 

in the handling of public funds is made clear in Article’V, Section 55 of the current General Appropriations Act. (Chap. 1047, 

General and Special Laws, 62nd Leg., R.S. 1971, at page 3815, 

V-54). It is there provided for correction by transfer to the 

correct fund when clerical errors result in any moneys being 

deposited into incorrect funds in or with the State Treasury or 

in a trust or suspense fund. In view of all of, the .foregoing 

considerations, it is our opinion that the State Auditor may, 

in the case 

such errors 

transfer of 

of-such clericai errors, allow the colleges to correct 

and permit the proper amount to be collected, and a 

funds to the proper fund to be effected. 

SUMMARY 

1. Where there has been only a partial collection of tuition by a public junior col,lege on 

or before the twelfth c1as.s da,y of the fall semester, all semester credit hours for which the student 

is enrolled shall be deducted from the State Auditor’s 

report for state aid purposes. 

2. The provisions of Article IV, Section 16, 

Paragraph 3(c) of the current General Appropriations 

Act (Acts 1971, 62nd Leg.) do not apply to vocationaltechnical courses reported for funding through the 

Texas Central Education Agency. 

3. In instances where a public junior college 

collects as tuition an amount at least as much as 

required by Sec. 54.051, Texas Education Code, but 

fails to collect in full on or before the twelfth 

class day of the fall semester the amount of tuition 

as set by its governing board, al,1 semester credit 

hours for which the student enrolled shall be 

deducted from the State Auditor’s report for state 

aid purposes; unless such failure was caused by 

clerical error, mistake or inadvertence. 

truly yours, 

L!2?2%= 

y General of Texas 

Prepared by Bill Campbell 

Assistant Attorney General 

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Hon. George W. McNiel, page 6 (M-1134) 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

Kerns Taylor, Chairman 

W. E. Allen, Co-Chairman 

James ,McCoy 

Scott Garrison 

Sig Aronson 

James Quick 

SAMUEL D. MCDANIEL 

Staff Legal Assistant 

ALFRED WALKER 

Executive Assistant 

NOLA WHITE 

First Assistant 

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