LOUISIANA
STUDENT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE COMMISSION
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| TOPS BULLETIN NUMBER: | T2003-4 |
| DATE ISSUED: | May 6, 2003 |
| EFFECTIVE DATE: | As Indicated |
| DISTRIBUTION: |
Louisiana High School Principals and Counselors, City and Parish School Board Presidents, School Board Superintendents, College and University, Technical College and LAICU Chancellors, Financial Aid Offices, Business Offices, Registrars and Auditors, System Governance, Board of Regents, Department of Education, Louisiana Officials, Louisiana Legislators, and Commission Members |
| TOPIC: |
Scholarship and Grant Program Revisions to Provide Relief from Loss of a Term or a Semester of TOPS When a Student is Ordered to Active Duty, to Provide for Part-Time Enrollment for Such Students, and to Add Course Equivalents to the High School Core Curriculum Requirements for TOPS Eligibility |
To assure that your Scholarship and Grant Program Rules remain current, please record this document on your TOPS Bulletin index and retain it with your manual.
The Louisiana Student Financial Assistance Commission has revised the Scholarship and Grant Program Rules at its April 29, 2003 meeting to amend Sections 701, 705, 805 and 2103 to:
The full compilation of
the TOPS rules with all changes incorporated to date may be viewed on our web
site at www.osfa.state.la.us. The
revisions, with inserted language underlined and stricken language struck
out, follow:
Title 28
EDUCATION
Part VI. Student Financial Assistance—Higher
Education Scholarship and Grant Programs
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Chapter 7. Tuition Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS) Opportunity, Performance, and Honors Awards
§701. General Provisions
A. - D.3.. ...
E. Award Amounts. The specific award amounts for each component of TOPS are as follows:1. a. The TOPS Opportunity Award provides an amount equal to undergraduate tuition for full-time attendance at an Eligible College or University for a period not to exceed eight semesters, including Qualified Summer Sessions, twelve quarters, including Qualified Summer Sessions, or an equivalent number of units in an eligible institution which operates on a schedule based on units other than semesters or quarters, except as provided by LSA-R.S. 17:3048.1.H,
or§503.D,or§509.C. or §701.E.1.b. Attending a Qualified Summer Session for which tuition is paid will count toward the eight (8) semester limit for TOPS.
b. The semester or term count for a student shall not be increased for any semester or term a student is unable to complete because of orders to active duty in the United States Armed Forces or National Guard, whether or not a full refund for the TOPS payment for that semester or term is received by LOSFA.
2. a. The TOPS Performance Award provides a $400 annual stipend, prorated by two semesters, three quarters, or equivalent units in each Academic Year (College) and Program Year (Non-academic Program), in addition to an amount equal to tuition for full-time attendance at an Eligible College or University, for a period not to exceed eight semesters, including Qualified Summer Sessions, twelve quarters, including Qualified Summer Sessions, or an equivalent number of units in an eligible institution which operates on a schedule based on units other than semesters or quarters, except as provided by LSA-R.S. 17:3048.1.H,or§503.D,or§509.C. or §701.E.2.b. The stipend will be paid for each Qualified Summer Session, semester, quarter, term, or equivalent unit for which tuition is paid. Attending a Qualified Summer Session for which tuition is paid will count toward the eight (8) semester limit for TOPS.
b. The semester or term count for a student shall not be increased for any semester or term a student is unable to complete because of orders to active duty in the United States Armed Forces or National Guard, whether or not a full refund for the TOPS payment for that semester or term is received by LOSFA, provided that any amount of a stipend paid and not refunded shall be counted toward the total stipends allowed by law.
3. a. The TOPS Honors Award provides an $800 annual stipend, prorated by two semesters, three quarters, or equivalent units in each Academic Year (College) and each Program Year (Non-academic Program), in addition to an amount equal to tuition for full-time attendance at an Eligible College or University, for a period not to exceed eight semesters, including Qualified Summer Sessions, twelve quarters, including Qualified Summer Sessions, or an equivalent number of units in an eligible institution which operates on a schedule based on units other than semesters or quarters, except as provided by LSA-R.S. 17:3048.1.H,or§503.D,or§509.C. or §701.E.3.b. The stipend will be paid for each Qualified Summer Session, semester, quarter, term, or equivalent unit for which tuition is paid. Attending a Qualified Summer Session for which tuition is paid will count toward the eight (8) semester limit for TOPS.
b. The semester or term count for a student shall not be increased for any semester or term a student is unable to complete because of orders to active duty in the United States Armed Forces or National Guard, whether or not a full refund for the TOPS payment for that semester or term is received by LOSFA, provided that any amount of a stipend paid and not refunded shall be counted toward the total stipends allowed by law.E.4. - G.2. ...
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§703. Establishing Eligibility
A. - A.5.a.i.
ii. for purposes of satisfying the requirements of 703.A.5.a.i., above, or 803.A.6.a., the following courses shall be considered equivalent to the identified core courses and may be substituted to satisfy corresponding core courses:
Core Curriculum Course Equivalent (Substitute) Course Physical Science General Science, Integrated Science Algebra I Algebra I, Parts 1 and 2, Integrated Mathematics I Applied Algebra IA and IB Applied Mathematics I and II Algebra I, Algebra II and Geometry Integrated Mathematics I, II and III Algebra II Integrated Mathematics II Geometry Integrated Mathematics III Geometry, Trigonometry, Calculus, or Comparable Advanced Mathematics Pre-Calculus, Algebra III, Probability and Statistics, Discrete Mathematics, Applied Mathematics III*, Advanced Mathematics I, Advanced Mathematics II Chemistry Chemistry Com Fine Arts Survey Speech Debate (2 units) Western Civilization European History *Applied Mathematics III was formerly referred to as Applied Geometry A.5.a.iii - G.2. ...
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§705. Maintaining Eligibility
A. To continue receiving the TOPS Opportunity, Performance or Honors Awards, the recipient must meet all of the following criteria:
1. have received less than four years or eight semesters of TOPS Award funds, except as provided in §701.E.1.b, §701.E.2.b and §701.E.3.b, provided that each two terms or equivalent units of enrollment in a program for a vocational or technical education certificate or diploma or a non-academic undergraduate degree shall be the equivalent of a semester; and
A.2. - D. ...
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Chapter 8. TOPS-TECH Award
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§805. Maintaining Eligibility
A. To continue receiving the TOPS-TECH Award, the recipient must meet all of the following criteria:
1. have received the TECH Award for less than two years, except as provided by §805.C, unless reduced as required by §503.D; and
A.2. - B.
C. The semester or term count for a student shall not be increased for any semester or term a student is unable to complete because of orders to active duty in the United States Armed Forces or National Guard, whether or not a full refund for the TOPS Tech payment for that semester or term is received by LOSFA.
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Chapter 21. Miscellaneous Provisions and Exceptions
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§2103. Circumstances Warranting Exception to the Initial and Continuous Enrollment Requirements
A. - E.11.c. ...
F. Students who are granted an exception based on military service in accordance with Subsection 2103.E.9 above and who desire to enroll as a part time student in an eligible postsecondary institution while on active duty shall be eligible on request for TOPS payment for such enrollment. Any payment for part time attendance under this subsection shall count towards the student's maximum eligibility for up to the equivalent of eight full time semesters of postsecondary education in part time and full time semesters.
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