Louisiana Administrative Code › Title 28 - EDUCATION › Part IV - Student Financial Assistance-Higher Education Scholarship and Grant Programs › Chapter 8 - TOPS-Tech Award › Section IV-805 - Maintaining Eligibility

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024
A. To
				continue receiving the TOPS-Tech Award, the recipient must meet all of the
				following criteria:
1. have received the
				TOPS-Tech Award for not more than two years or the equivalent number of terms
				and summer sessions, provided that not attending a summer session shall not
				reduce the number of eligible terms; and, except as provided by §805 C, or
				unless reduced as required by
				§503
				D;
2. submit the renewal FAFSA in
				accordance with
				§505 F;
				and
3. not have a criminal
				conviction, except for misdemeanor traffic violations and if the student has
				been in the United States Armed Forces and has separated from such service, has
				received an honorable discharge or general discharge under honorable
				conditions; and
4. agree that
				awards will be used exclusively for educational expenses; and
5.
a. for
				students graduating through the 2015-2016 academic year (high school), continue
				to enroll and accept the TOPS-Tech Award as a full-time student in an eligible
				college or university defined in §301, and maintain an enrolled status
				throughout the academic year (TOPS) (enrollment in a summer session is optional
				and is not required to meet this requirement), unless granted an exception for
				cause by the board; and
b. for
				students graduating in the 2016-2017 academic year (high school) and later,
				continue to enroll in an eligible college or university in an associate's
				degree or other shorter-term training and education program that is aligned to
				state workforce priorities as determined by the Louisiana Board of Regents and
				the Louisiana Workforce Investment Council, and maintain an enrolled status
				throughout the academic year (TOPS) (enrollment in a summer session is optional
				and is not required to meet this requirement), unless granted an exception for
				cause by the board;
6.
				has maintained
steady academic progress
, as defined in
				§301; and
7.
a. through the 2013-14 academic year,
				maintain, by the end of the spring term, a TOPS cumulative college grade point
				average (TOPS Tech) of at least 2.50 on a 4.00 maximum scale, provided that
				this requirement does not apply to a student who is enrolled in a cosmetology
				or proprietary school that is an eligible college or university and the student
				has met the federal grant aid steady academic progress requirement at that
				school; and
b. beginning with the
				2014-15 academic year, maintain, by the end of the academic year, a TOPS
				cumulative college grade point average (TOPS Tech) of at least 2.50 on a 4.00
				maximum scale, provided that this requirement does not apply to a student who
				is enrolled in a cosmetology or proprietary school that is an eligible college
				or university and the student has met the federal grant aid steady academic
				progress requirement at that school; and
8. earn a total of at least 24 college credit
				hours as determined by totaling the earned hours reported by the institution
				for each semester or term in the academic year (TOPS). Unless granted an
				exception for cause by the board, failure to earn the required number of hours
				will result in permanent cancellation of the recipient's eligibility, provided
				that this requirement does not apply to a student who is enrolled in a
				cosmetology or proprietary school that is an eligible college or university and
				the student has met the federal grant aid steady academic progress requirement
				at that school.