LOUISIANA STUDENT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE COMMISSION
OFFICE OF STUDENT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
Tuition Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS) Bulletin
TOPS BULLETIN NUMBER:
T2000-20
DATE ISSUED:
July 20, 2000
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, and Auditors, System Governance, Board of Regents, Department of Education, Louisiana Officials, Louisiana Legislators, and Commission Members
TOPIC: TOPS Core Curriculum, TOPS-Tech, and Technical Changes 

To assure that your Scholarship and Grant Policy and Procedure Manual remains current, please record this document on your TOPS Bulletin index and retain it with your manual.

 

The Louisiana Student Financial Assistance Commission has revised TOPS rules (Louisiana Administrative Code, Title 28, Part IV) to:

The full compilation of TOPS rules with all changes incorporated to date may be viewed on our website at http://www.osfa.state.la.us The revisions follow*:

Part IV. Student Financial Assistance—Higher Education Scholarship and Grant Programs

...

Chapter 3. Definitions
§301. Definitions


...

First-Time Freshman — a student who is awarded TOPS Opportunity, Performance, or Honors and enrolls for the first-time as a full-time freshman in an academic program in a postsecondary school subsequent to high school graduation, and continues to be enrolled full-time on the fourteenth class day (ninth class day for Louisiana Tech) or enrolls for the first time, full-time in a Louisiana public community or technical college that offers a vocational or technical education certificate or diploma program or a non-academic undergraduate degree to pursue a skill, occupational training, or technical training subsequent to high school graduation. A student who is awarded TOPS Opportunity, Performance, or Honors and begins in an academic program in a postsecondary college or university attendance in a summer session will be considered a first-time enrollee First-Time Freshman for the immediately succeeding fall term. A student who is awarded TOPS Opportunity, Performance, or Honors and begins in a non-academic program in a postsecondary school in a summer term will be considered a First-Time Freshman at the time of such enrollment. The fact that a student enrolls in a postsecondary school prior to graduation from high school and/or enrolls less than full time in a postsecondary school prior to the required date for full time enrollment shall not preclude the student from being a First-Time Freshman.

First-Time Student a student who is awarded TOPS-TECH and enrolls for the first time, full-time in a Louisiana public community or technical college that offers a vocational or technical education certificate or diploma program or a non-academic undergraduate degree to pursue a skill, occupational training, or technical training subsequent to high school graduation, and continues to be enrolled full-time. The fact that a student who is awarded TOPS-TECH enrolls in an academic program at a postsecondary school prior or subsequent to graduation from high school, but prior to the required date for full time enrollment in a Louisiana public community or technical college that offers a vocational or technical education certificate or diploma program or a non-academic undergraduate degree, shall not preclude the student from being a First-Time Student.

...

Chapter 7. Tuition Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS) Opportunity; Performance and Honors Awards

...

§703. Establishing Eligibility
   
A. - A.4.g.(2) ...
   
     5. a. graduate from a BESE-approved, provisionally-approved, or probationally-approved public or nonpublic Louisiana high school or eligible non-Louisiana high school as defined in §1703.A.3; and
   
         i. at the time of high school graduation, an applicant must have successfully completed 16.5 units of high school course work constituting a core curriculum as follows:

Units

Course

1

English I

1

English II

1

English III

1

English IV

1

Algebra I (one unit) or Applied Algebra 1A and 1B (two units)

1

Algebra II

1

Geometry, Trigonometry, Calculus or comparable Advanced Mathematics

1

Biology

1

Chemistry

1

Earth Science, Environmental Science, Physical Science, Biology II, Chemistry II, Physics, Physics II, or Physics for Technology

1

American History

1

World History, Western Civilization or World Geography

1

Civics and Free Enterprise (one unit combined) or Civics (one unit, nonpublic)

1

Fine Arts Survey; (or substitute two units performance courses in music, dance, or theater; or two units of studio art or visual art; or one elective from among the other subjects listed in this core curriculum)

2

In a single Foreign Language (one unit or credit for three or more hours of college foreign language for students graduating from high school during the 1996-97 and 1997-98 school years).

½

Computer Science, Computer Literacy or Business Computer Applications (or substitute at least one-half unit of an elective course related to computers that is approved by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE); or substitute at least one-half unit of an elective from among the other subjects listed in this core curriculum); BESE has approved the following courses as computer related for purposes of satisfying the ½ unit computer science requirement for all schools (courses approved by BESE for individual schools are not included):

Computer /Technology Applications (1 credit)
Computer Architecture (1 credit)
Computer/Technology Literacy (½ credit)
Computer Science I (1 credit)
Computer Science II (1 credit)
Computer Systems and Networking I (1 credit)
Computer Systems and Networking II (1 credit)
Desktop Publishing (½ credit)
Digital Graphics & Animation (½ credit)
Multimedia Productions (1 credit)
Web Mastering (½ credit)
Independent Study in Technology applications (1 credit)

ii. for purposes of satisfying the requirements of §703.A.5.a.i., above, 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

Algebra I

Algebra I, Parts 1 and 2

Applied Algebra IA and IB

Applied Mathematics I and II

Algebra I, Algebra II and Geometry

Integrated Mathematics I, II and III

Geometry, Trigonometry, Calculus, or Comparable Advanced Mathematics

Pre-Calculus, Algebra III, Probability and Statistics, Discrete Mathematics, Applied Mathematics III*

Chemistry

Chemistry Com

Fine Arts Survey

Speech Debate (2 units)

Western Civilization

European History

*Applied Mathematics III was formerly referred to as Applied Geometry

iii. for purposes of satisfying the requirements of §703.A.5.a.i., above, in addition to the courses identified in §703.A.5.a.ii. the following courses shall be considered equivalent to the identified core courses and may be substituted to satisfy corresponding core courses for students of the Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts:

Core Curriculum Course

Equivalent (Substitute) Course

English III

EN 210 Composition/Major Themes in Literature (1 unit)

English IV

any two of the following ½ unit courses

EN 311Readings in Literature (at least one 311 course is a requirement)
  EN 311A American Literature
  EN 311B British Literature

EN 302 Studies in the English Language
EN 304 Topics in American and British Literature
EN 312 Studies in Poetry
EN 314 Readings in World Literature
EN 322 Studies in Fiction
EN 332 Introduction to Film Studies
EN 342 Studies in Modern Drama
EN 401 Creative Writing
EN 402 Expository Writing
EN 412 Studies in a Major Author - Shakespeare
EN 422 Studies in a Major Author - Faulkner
IS 314 Dramatic Text and Performance
IS 315 Literature and Science
IS 317 Evolution and Literature
IS 318 Sacred Literature
IS 411 English Renaissance

Algebra I (one unit)

Any combination of advanced math courses which equal one unit of course credit that are certified by the school to be equivalent of Algebra I

Algebra II (one unit)

Any combination of advanced math courses which equal one unit of course credit that are certified by the school to be equivalent of Algebra II

MA 120 College Algebra (1 unit), or
MA 121 Accelerated College Algebra (½ unit) and
½ unit of MA 203 Trigonometry

Physics

PH 110L Conceptual Physics (1 unit), or
PH 210L General Physics (1 unit), or
PH 250L Advanced Placement Physics (1 unit), or
PH 310L Physics with Calculus

Biology II

BI 210L Advanced Placement Biology (1 unit), or
BI 231L Microbiology (½ unit), and
BI 241 Molecular and Cellular Biology (½ unit)

Civics (½ unit) and Free Enterprise (½ unit)

AH 243 American Government and Politics (½ unit), and
SS 113 Economics (½ unit)

Western Civilization

EH 121 Ancient and Medieval History (½ unit) and
EH 122 Modern History (½ unit)

or

    A.5.b.-G.2. ...

...

Chapter 8. TOPS-TECH Award

...

§803. Establishing Eligibility

    A. - A.3. ...
   
4. initially apply and enroll in a technical program as a First-Time Freshman Student, as defined in §301, in a public community or Louisiana Technical College, unless granted an exception for cause by LASFAC, not later than the term or semester excluding the summer semesters or sessions term, immediately following the first anniversary of the date that the student graduated from high school or, if the student joins the United States Armed Forces within one year after graduating from high school, has enrolled in such eligible institution as a first-time freshman First-Time Student not later than the term or semester, excluding the summer semesters or sessions term, immediately following the fifth anniversary of the date that the student graduated from high school or within one year from the date of discharge, whichever is earlier; and

*Words in struck through type are deletions from the existing rules; words underscored are additions.

 

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