The director of the agency that oversees TOPS had a message for students during the Louisiana Student Financial Assistance Commission board meeting Wednesday: do not panic, keep your grades up and file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
The meeting came after days of testimony at the state Capitol by Sujuan Boutté, director of LOSFA, about the financial state of TOPS. The program, which is the largest student aid scholarship in the state, has a $28 million shortfall for the current semester, and LOSFA halted payments until Gov. John Bel Edwards announced universities, not students, would have to pay for the remaining funds.
Boutté said while the numbers look drastic for next fiscal year — TOPS is at risk of losing around 80 percent of its funding, which would remove more than 37,000 currently qualifying students from receiving the scholarship — the numbers are simply proposed until state lawmakers find the money.
“In every meeting we’ve been in, they are working very hard to mitigate this and resolve this,” Boutté said.
Other members of the board suggested TOPS would be funded, based on the popularity of the scholarship.
“This is probably the most respected program we offer in the state legislature,” said board member Jimmy Long, who also serves on the University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors.
Members and agency directors said they received an influx of calls following the initial announcement that TOPS payments were being halted, and there is still uncertainty among students and parents over what will happen to the program in coming semesters.
But board members lauded LOSFA’s social media and digital initiatives in mitigating confusion and fear from parents and students over whether their scholarships were being revoked. The agency also delivered a report on a program that texts thousands of TOPS recipients throughout the state, informing them about qualifications for the scholarship.
LOSFA Public Information and Communications Director Gus Wales said a press release was sent two hours after the announcement through the texting program.
“When the budget scare originated, students and parents were alarmed,” Boutté said. “They turned to social media, and we were able to provide them information.”