The Tuition Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS) is projected to cost the state in excess of $90 million during the current budget year, and increase to over $106 million for 41,000 students in FY02. The program, however, is only funded at $102 million in the FY02 Executive Budget.

TOPS currently pays tuition for roughly 35,000 students. The current average TOPS award is $2,553 a year. Of 23,000 students who qualified for the minimum TOPS scholarships in the first two years of the awards, 9,600 lost their eligibility, resulting in a 42 percent forfeiture rate. Forfeiture rates are lower among TOPS students whose higher grades and ACT scores qualify them to receive extra stipends for books and supplies. Subcommittee discussions centered on the following topics dealing with rising costs and forfeitures associated with TOPS:

• Either make students who lose their TOPS scholarships repay the money the state spent on their education or change the law to prevent TOPS recipients who do not meet college grade point requirements from requalifying for the scholarship. Basic TOPS grants require a 2.3 GPA in the recipient’s freshman year and a 2.5 GPA thereafter. Currently, however, students who fall below those standards have two years to get their grades in order and requalify for TOPS. More than 30 percent of all TOPS students have lost the free-tuition scholarships over the last two years because they made poor grades or failed to finish enough courses. TOPS paid tuition for a total of 30,000 high school graduates of the classes of 1998 and 1999, but almost 10,000 of the students lost them. Of those who lost TOPS scholarships, about 6,000 started college with ACT scores between 19 and 22.

• Raise the required grade-point average (2.5 on a 4.0 scale) and ACT score (20 out of a possible 36) needed for eligibility to enter a four-year college. TOPS pays tuition at Louisiana’s two-year and four-year colleges for students who have scored at least 20 on the 36-point ACT and graduated from a Louisiana high school with at least a 2.5 grade point average after taking a prescribed set of courses. Students with higher grades and ACT scores of 23 or above win extra stipends for books and supplies and are more likely to meet the required college grades and hours of coursework for continued TOPS eligibility at four-year institutions. Forfeiture rates are lower among those students whose grades and ACT scores are high enough to win the extra stipends for books and supplies.

• Impose a financial need component so students from families with high incomes cannot receive TOPS awards. Nearly 7 percent of 34,273 TOPS recipients come from homes with reported adjusted gross incomes of more than $150,000. (Not all wealthy parents are reported because some do not provide income data.) At least 74 TOPS recipients are from homes where incomes are between $750,000 and $1,000,000. SB54 (Marionneaux) of the 2001 Regular Session proposes to add a financial need component to TOPS by establishing that a maximum household income of less than $125,000 be a qualification beginning with high school graduates in the 2002-03 school year.

• Make the TOPS scholarships available to students with ACT scores of 16. Those with scores from 16 to 19 could get TOPS money to attend two-year colleges. If they succeed in community college settings, they could receive further money to continue in four-year programs. These less-prepared students could be channeled into less expensive community colleges, where tuition costs are half that of attending a four-year university. Such a move would cut costs and help students catch up before taking on tougher college courses at four-year schools. A stumbling block to this approach is that community college courses are not available in all areas of the state.

• Lower the required score on the American College Test (ACT) from the current 19 to either 17 or 16 in an effort to get more high school graduates interested in skills training. Requirements for the TOPS Tech Award are too similar to the requirements for free college tuition under TOPS. Few students who qualify for the Tech Award end up using it. Only 77 of 937 eligible students used it in 1999, and only 102 of 1,247 used it in 2000. Many students eligible for the Tech Award prefer four-year programs and are paying their own way to college rather than attending a technical school for free.

• Require students to find their own financing for their first year of college. If they finish the freshman year with full class schedules and good grades, they could receive TOPS money for subsequent years. If they graduate, they could be reimbursed for the freshman year.

• Eliminate college stipends of $400 and $800 annually for some TOPS students with better ACT scores and high school grade point averages. The stipends cost the state $5 million annually for about 8,700 qualified students.

• These TOPS discussion topics address issues on program costs and eligibility standards. These topics could be converted into either proposed legislation and/or administrative rules to be adopted by the Louisiana Student Financial Assistance Commission, which oversees the agency administering TOPS. SB54 already addresses adding a financial need component to TOPS.

The Education Subcommittee examined the finances and programs of two special schools in the Baton Rouge area: the Louisiana School for the Visually Impaired (LSVI) and the Louisiana School for the Deaf (LSD). The Subcommittee’s findings are as follows:

• LSVI houses only about 50 children and is composed of aging buildings in need of significant repairs and improvements. The school’s capital outlay request for FY02 totals $8.1 million to remodel, demolish, or reconstruct campus buildings; comply with ADA accessibility guidelines; and reroof certain campus buildings.

• Approximately ten states currently have their state schools for the visually impaired and the deaf co-located at a common, shared site.

• Testimony by education officials before the Education Subcommittee indicated that it is physically possible to move LSVI’s operations to the LSD campus. The officials noted that most space currently available on the LSD campus would have to be remodeled to accommodate the needs of LSVI’s students, most of who are also multiply handicapped.

• An earlier analysis by the Division of Administration indicated that such a relocation could save the state at least $500,000 a year in state funds. The two schools could share buildings and services such as: infirmary; physical education complex; cafeteria; student center; auditorium; maintenance; and security.

• Potential savings resulting from relocation could perhaps be re-directed to outreach efforts for visually impaired students across the state. Advocates for the visually impaired estimate that only about $750,000 of LSVI’s $5.4 million current operating budget is devoted to outreach efforts such as identifying, training, and certifying teachers in local school districts who specialize in working with blind children.

• The Legislature may wish to consider creating a study committee to hold hearings during the 2001-2002 interim on relocating LSVI to the LSD campus. Cooperation from the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, the Department of Education, and the Division of Administration would be essential, if this option were to be pursued. The committee should be directed to conduct an in-depth analysis of the topics outlined above and report its findings to the Legislature prior to the 2002 Regular Session.

Issue 5: What is the role, scope, and mission of Higher Education?

The Education Subcommittee investigated the opportunities provided to Louisiana citizens for education and training beyond high school. The Subcommittee’s key findings were as follows:

• Louisiana students are not well prepared to take advantage of college. Whereas 82 percent of all Louisiana 18- to 24-year-olds have a high school credential, this still ranks fourteenth (14^th) in the sixteen (16)-state region of the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB). Statistics show that Louisiana’s eighth-graders rank at or near the bottom of the region on national assessments in reading and math. This indicates these students are not well prepared for challenging high school courses. Louisiana’s 11^th and 12^th graders rank last in the region when enrolling in advanced science and math courses.

• A relatively small percentage of Louisiana student entering post-secondary education complete their academic and vocational programs. Only 28 percent of full-time freshmen seeking bachelor’s degrees at Louisiana’s public four-year colleges complete their degree at their institution of initial enrollment within six (6) years. Only fifteen percent of full-time freshmen seeking associate’s degrees and certificates at Louisiana’s public two-year colleges complete their certificate or degree at their institution of initial enrollment within three (3) years. This ranks Louisiana fourteenth (14^th) and eighth (8^th), respectively, within the SREB region.

• Louisiana has too many four-year institutions. When compared to the SREB on a per capita basis, Louisiana should have only about nine (9), not thirteen (13), four-year schools.

• Louisiana does not have enough two-year institutions. When compared to the SREB on a per capita basis, Louisiana should have about sixteen (16), instead of only nine (9), two-year community colleges.

• Louisiana has too many vocational-technical institutions. When compared to the SREB on a per capita basis, Louisiana should have only about twenty (20), not 42, vocational education institutions.

The Board of Regents’ Master Plan for Higher Education in Louisiana was presented to the Subcommittee and stressed the following topics:

• Increase access to higher education services for the state’s population. This approach is intended to provide Louisiana citizens with greater opportunities for a better quality of life. Key goals include increasing the overall number of college students and increasing the number of minority students.

• Ensure that quality instruction is provided to all students in the state’s higher education institutions. This approach requires that institutions be held accountable for the educational services they provide. Reducing the portion of first-time freshmen needing remedial work is one of Regent’s goals. The Master Plan also envisions increasing the graduation rate for students who earn a bachelor’s degree within six years.

• Provide services to each institution’s community and the state as a whole. The Master Plan calls for awarding more teacher degrees, raising the level of "student satisfaction," and maximizing literacy programs for undereducated adults. Regents also intends to take advantage of technologies developed at the state’s universities by increasing "intellectual property" disclosures, licensing agreements, and start-up businesses.

Achieving the Master Plan’s ultimate goals will, of course, require proper funding levels to be realized. According to the funding formula used by the Board of Regents, Louisiana’s post-secondary educational system is under funded by $260 million when compared to funding levels in other Southern states. Of this amount, about $90 million is needed to put faculty salaries at the regional average. The funding formula uses criteria as to the kind of institution, its range and mix of program offerings, and its general enrollment level to set the funding target. As noted above, Louisiana’s institutional mix varies greatly from that of other states in the South and could be re-aligned to meet the educational needs of its citizens. Such a re-alignment could likely lead to a better allocation of financial resources than currently exists. As admission requirements are raised at the state’s four-year schools, students should become better prepared to enter college. Further, those students needing additional or remedial education should, under Regents’ Master Plan, utilize the state’s emerging (and less expensive) community college system.

Staff Suggestions:

Questions and comments may be directed to websen@legis.la.gov.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana.