AUSTIN — Students lollygagging at Texas public universities are costing taxpayers money and taking up space in the state's already crowded flagship universities, lawmakers and university administrators say.

The Senate subcommittee on higher education Monday approved a bill aimed at moving students into a cap and gown more quickly by allowing public universities to adopt a flat-rate tuition to encourage students to take more classes each semester.

"It's doable, but we have to motivate students to want to do it," said Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, who authored the bill and earned her first bachelor's degree in just 2 1/2 years while married and working. "I think it's become acceptable in Texas for students to take five or six years or more to complete degree requirements."

According to figures from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, students who stay in school a fifth and sixth year could cost the state an additional $29.4 million. The board say students who complete their education in four years typically take 130 hours while those who finish in six years take 166 hours. The state reimburses universities based on the number of students enrolled in classes.

The University of Texas at Austin has conducted a pilot program with the flat-rate tuition that charges the same amount whether students take 12 credit hours or 18.

Paying for more classes each semester doesn't necessarily mean students will take more or graduate any earlier, though. And some worry such a policy could have the unintended consequence of penalizing students who have work or other responsibilities to fulfill while attending college.

In 2004, about 23 percent of Texas public university graduates completed their degrees in four years or less. About 53 percent completed degrees within six years, the board said.

UT Austin's flat-rate tuition program started in 2001 with some who take 12 hours or more have been paying for 14 credit hours per semester — $3,294 in fall 2004 for liberal arts students and $3,459 for natural sciences students.

Students in the pilot program increased their course load on average about one-half credit hour per semester, said Stephen Monti, UT Austin executive vice provost. All other students increased course loads less than one-quarter of a credit hour.

"The big change was students who were previously taking 12 or 13 hours moved up to taking 14 or more," Monti said.

UT Austin administrators are pleased and will ask UT System board of regents this week for approval to expand the program for all students.

Alex Marks, a fifth-year senior at UT Austin studying transportation policy during a semester in Washington, D.C., said being in the Longhorn Band the first two years set back his timetable some. He said no amount of financial incentives from the state would have helped him graduate more quickly.

"Tuition my first year was about $2,500, and now it's $3,500 a semester. In the big scheme of things, that's really chump change," he said. "Look at the education you're getting compared to other schools."

Marks said legislators should focus on creating more flagship universities so that tens of thousands of students aren't trying to cram into UT Austin and Texas A&M University.

"If they're seeing this as long-term fix, they're grossly mistaken," Marks said.

David Gardner, a commissioner at the coordinating board, said the flat-rate tuition should be implemented with caution.

"We still have to remember there will continue to be students who will not be able to enroll full-time, and we'd rather them take course loads that allow them to go to school rather than not go to school at all," he said.

The key to successfully implementing flat-rate tuition, Monti said, is a change in students' thinking about tuition costs.

The flat-rate tuition bill must be approved by the full Senate education committee, the Senate, the House and the governor before it becomes law.