Changes to TOPS Rules Effective December 8, 1998

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.

On December 8, 1998, the Louisiana Student Financial Assistance Commission (LASFAC) exercised the emergency provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act [R.S. 49:953(B)] to amend rules of the Tuition Opportunity Program for Students (R.S. 17:3042.1 and R.S. 17:3048.1)

The emergency rules are necessary to allow the Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance and state educational institutions to effectively administer these programs.

This Declaration of Emergency will undergo routine adoption through the rule process of the Administrative Procedures Act. Interested persons may submit written comments on the proposed changes until 4:30 p.m., February 20, 1999, to Jack L. Guinn, Executive Director, Office of the Student Financial Assistance, Box 91202, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-9202.

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                Cumulative High School Grade Point Average—the final cumulative high school grade point average calculated on a 4.00 scale for all courses attempted. Effective beginning with graduates in academic year 2000-2001, the Cumulative High School Grade Point Average shall be calculated by using only the course grades achieved for those courses included in the core curriculum and recorded on the official transcript reported to the Louisiana Department of Education. For those high schools that utilize other than a 4.00 scale, all grade values must be converted to a 4.00 scale utilizing the following formula:

                                                   Quality Points Awarded for the Course        =   X (Converted Quality Points)
                                                   Maximum Points Possible for the Course                4.00 (Maximum Scale)

                                                                                                    3.00   =    X 
                                                                                                     5.00        4.00                                        

By cross multiplying,
                                                            5X   =  12;  X  =  2.40

Quality points = Credit for course multiplied by the value assigned to the letter grade.

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            Eligible Noncitizen—an individual who can provide documentation from the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) that he is in the U.S. for other than a temporary purpose with the intention of becoming a citizen or permanent resident. Including, but not limited to, refugees, persons granted asylum, Cuban-Haitian entrants, temporary residents under the recent Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, and others. A permanent resident of the U.S. must provide documentation from the INS to verify permanent residency. Eligible noncitizens who graduate from high school on September 1, 1998, or thereafter, shall no longer be eligible for awards under this Part.

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            Louisiana Resident—

                        a. any independent student or any dependent student with at least one parent or legal guardian who has resided in the state for a minimum of 24 consecutive months immediately preceding a certain date or the date of a specified event that is further defined by the programs found in Part IV of these rules, or some other period of residency which is required to qualify the person for a specific program administered by the LASFAC. To qualify for a program under Part IV of these rules, in addition to the certification of residency found on the application form, the administering agency may require an independent student applicant or the parent(s) or legal guardian of a dependent student applicant to show proof of residency. Residency may be established by completion of a standard affidavit developed by the administering agency. Such affidavits must be completed in their entirety by the independent student applicant or by at least one parent or legal guardian of the dependent student applicant and be sworn to and notarized by a licensed notary public. Further, the affiant shall be required to submit records in support of the affidavit to include the following records and such other records as may be required by the administering agency:

i. if registered to vote, a Louisiana voters registration card; and
ii. if licensed to drive a motor vehicle, a Louisiana driver's license; and
iii. if owning a motor vehicle located in Louisiana, a Louisiana registration for that vehicle; and
iv. if earning a reportable income, a Louisiana tax return.

                        b. any member of the Armed Forces on active duty whose official military personnel or pay records show that the member claims Louisiana as his home of record and who has filed a Louisiana tax return for the most recent two years in compliance with a.iv, above.

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                B. Final Deadline. The final deadline for receipt of a student’s initial application for state aid is July 1st of the high school academic year (which includes the Fall, Spring and Summer sessions) in which the student graduates. To renew an award in subsequent years, annual applications must be received by the July 1st deadline. Any student submitting an application for state aid after the Final Deadline will be ineligible for the requested aid. An application for renewal of an award in a subsequent year received after the July 1 deadline will not be processed, and the student will not be eligible for an award in that year. For example, for a student graduating in the 1998-1999 high school academic year, the student must submit an application (the Free Application for Federal Student Aid) to be received by the federal processor by July 1, 1999 and must submit an application to be received by the July 1st deadline for every year thereafter in which the student desires to renew the award.

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                A. To establish eligibility for a TOPS Opportunity, Performance or Honors Award, the student applicant must meet all of the following criteria:

                        1. be a U.S. citizen or national or eligible noncitizen, and be registered with the Selective Service, if required, unless the institutional Financial Aid Officer determines that failure to register was not willful. For student applicants graduating on or after September 1, 1998, only U.S. citizens will be eligible for an award under this section; and

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A.2. - 4.f...

                g. all students must apply for an award by July 1st of the high school academic year (which includes the Fall, Spring and Summer sessions) in which they graduate to establish their initial qualification for an award. For a student entitled to defer acceptance of an award under section 703.A.4.b. or d., that student must apply by July 1st of the high school academic year in which the student graduates and must also apply by July 1st prior to the academic year in which the student intends to first accept the award, and every year of eligibility thereafter.

                                        5. a. ...

                                                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:

                                                                                        ii. - F. ...

            G. 1. A student who enters a college or university under an early admissions program prior to high school graduation will be eligible for an appropriate award under the following conditions:

                                a. - d. ...

                        2. A student who graduates from high school in less than four years or who enters a college or university early admissions program prior to graduation from high school shall be considered a First-Time Freshman, as defined in §703, not earlier than the first semester following the academic year in which the student would have normally graduated had he or she not graduated early or entered an early admissions program. A student who graduates high school in less than four years or enters an early admissions program will remain eligible for a TOPS award until the semester or term, excluding summer semesters or sessions, immediately following the first anniversary of the date that the student normally would have graduated.

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        C. In the event the administering agency determines that an ineligible student has received an award as the result of an administrative error or erroneous information provided by the student or the student’s parent(s) or legal guardian or incorrect certification from the student’s high school, the student’s eligibility for the award shall be terminated and no further awards shall be made to the ineligible student. If an ineligible student has received an award due to an administrative error or incorrect certification, the administering agency will not pursue recoupment from the student of funds that were awarded. If an erroneous award has been made and the administering agency determines that the award was made based upon incorrect information submitted by the student or the student’s parent(s) or legal guardian, the administering agency may seek reimbursement from the student, the student’s parent(s) or legal guardian, and if it is further determined that the award was made due to an intentional misrepresentation by the student, the student’s parent(s) or legal guardian, then the administering agency shall refer the case to the Attorney General for investigation and prosecution. If a student or the student’s parent(s) or legal guardian is suspected of having intentionally misrepresented the facts which were provided to the administering agency and used by it to determine the eligibility of the student for the program and the administering agency has referred the case to the Attorney General for investigation, then the student shall remain ineligible for future award consideration pending an outcome of said investigation which is favorable to the student.

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        A. To establish eligibility for the TOPS-TECH Award, the student applicant must meet the following criteria:

                1. be a U.S. citizen or national or eligible noncitizen, and be registered with the Selective Service, if required, unless the institutional Financial Aid Officer determines that failure to register was not willful. For student applicants graduating on or after September 1, 1998, only U.S. citizens will be eligible for an award under this section; and

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        A. To establish eligibility, the student applicant must meet all of the following criteria:

                1. be a U.S. citizen or national or eligible noncitizen, and be registered with the Selective Service, if required, unless the institutional Financial Aid Officer determines that failure to register was not willful. For student applicants graduating on or after September 1, 1998, only U.S. citizens will be eligible for an award under this section; and

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