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The following reporting procedures shall apply to TOPS recipients who were affected by Hurricanes Katrina and/or Rita and who are returning to an eligible institution beginning Spring, 2006. The Special Student Codes identified below will be associated with processing Displaced Students.

“KP” Displaced students who enroll less than full time:
For the 2005-06 Academic Year, displaced students who enroll as part-time students will remain eligible for a TOPS award. The institution will be permitted to bill for the amount of the student’s part-time tuition, if the student authorizes the institution to do so. Institutions must use “KP” as the Special Student code when billing for these part-time students. Payment for part-time enrollment in a semester (quarter) will result in a reduction of the student’s TOPS eligibility by one full semester (quarter).

“KR” Displaced students who did not enroll 1S2006 or 2S2006 (no TOPS Academic Information Report has been received):
The school that intends to bill for a Displaced Student who is returning from a period of non-enrollment must first ensure that the Only Term Eligible (OTE) field is advanced to the appropriate billing semester (2S2006 or 1S2007). For these students, the school will report the Special Student Code of “KR” to advance the OTE to the appropriate eligible semester. It is the responsibility of the billing institution to confirm that the student does not have an academic record for any term during the 2005-06 academic year before using the “KR” code.

“KO” Displaced students who enrolled at an out-of-state institution during the 2005-06 academic year:
These students will retain their TOPS eligibility and not lose any terms of payment if academic requirements are met. Grades earned while attending the out-of-state institution will be used in determining Steady Academic Progress and Renewal. Prior to billing for these students, the eligible school must enter the appropriate TOPS Academic Information (Attempted Hours, Earned Hours, Quality Points) via the TOPS Portal from the student’s out-of-state transcript for each semester the student attended out of state during 2005-06. The Special Student Code of “KO” must be used when submitting the academic information to allow the program to accept the grades and advance the OTE to the appropriate semester for billing. REMINDER: The TOPS cumulative GPA is calculated using ALL hours, regardless of a school’s acceptance of those credits.

Normal billing procedures will apply in all other cases. For Displaced Students who enrolled as a visiting student in an eligible institution during 1S2006, the receipt of the student’s Fall Academic Information Report will advance the OTE to the next eligible semester that can be paid, in this case 2S2006. LOSFA will also automatically advance the OTE for a Displaced Student upon receipt of an official resignation (Status Code 10) for 1S2006 or 2S2006.

Please contact John Bell, Awards and Renewal Manager, at jbell@osfa.state.la.us if you have questions or require additional information.