Plans to cap the TOPS program and add a need-based aspect to the award were rejected by the Post Secondary Education Review Commission at its monthly meeting last week. The review commission – also known as the Tucker Commission – rejected plans to cap TOPS, but approved recommendations for granting institutions freedom to set tuition, a statewide W policy and the distribution of state budget cuts. Commissioner David Longanecker proposed capping TOPS at $2,500 for students’ first two years of school and $4,500 for the remaining two years. Longanecker also proposed students with the top 10 percent of ACT scores in the state or the top 10 percent of their graduating class receive the award. Longanecker argued a cap on TOPS would allow colleges and universities to raise tuition without demanding more state funds for the TOPS program. He also argued the new cap on TOPS would encourage students to start at a community college then move to a university.
The recommendation failed after much debate. Commission Chairman Sen. Ben Nevers, D-Bogalusa, said capping TOPS would break the initial intention of the program to help all meritorious students go to school in Louisiana. The commission also rejected a similar recommendation that would keep the merit based formula, but add a need-based formula for allocation. During the meeting, the commission recommended the legislature give management boards of universities some authority to raise tuition with strict stipulations beginning in fiscal year 2013. The authority to raise tuition currently lies with the state legislature and requires a two-thirds vote. Increases in tuition would only be granted if institutions meet retention and graduation goals. LSU would have to demonstrate ‘substantial progress’ toward achieving a graduation rate of 75 percent by 2018. Chancellor Michael Martin suggested the University needs more freedom to regulate fees to negate the effects of state budget cuts. ‘We are going to try to negotiate an arrangement with the legislature and the Governor’s Office that if we make hard choices with respect to program eliminations, that they will minimize the negative impact of a cuts and give us the latitude to raise some revenue through higher fees,’ Martin said. During the meeting, the commission created a recommendation suggesting every institution report student credit hours on both the 14th day of class and the end of the semester, implementing the end of semester student credit hours into the state funding formula. The recommendation also suggests the state implement a universal withdrawal policy for public higher education institutions. Commissioner James Wharton – who presented the recommendation – argued soft withdrawal policies lead to lower graduation rates. Wharton said his recommendation would pressure schools to encourage students not to drop classes and encourage students to graduate faster, saving the state and students money. The commission also passed a recommendation encouraging the state government to amend the constitution allowing state budget cuts to be spread more evenly across state agencies instead of falling disproportionately on education. The commission will meet once in February before presenting its recommendations to the Board of Regents. The Board of Regents will review the recommendations and submit comments to the legislature by the end of February. — Contact Xerxes A. Wilson at [email protected]