On Nov. 15, The University of New Orleans announced it would fully cover TOPS for its students in the spring, while LSU still plans to charge its TOPS-eligible students roughly 60 percent of the cost of tuition next semester.
Compared to LSU’s 14,086 TOPS recipients, UNO has 1,582 students receiving funding from the program. LSU is ranked first in the state for TOPS recipients, with nearly 60 percent of students receiving scholarship awards, while UNO is ranked ninth overall.
In a statement, LSU Media Relations Director Ernie Ballard said that, “Due to LSU’s higher admission and academic standards, LSU has 14,086 TOPS students. There is simply no way for our university to absorb such a massive cost, but we are going to do the best we can to keep our best and brightest students in Louisiana.”
UNO was able to cover the unfunded portion of TOPS because of student maximization of federal and state assistance, according to UNO chief communications officer and strategic adviser to the president Adam Norris. UNO now requires students who want any financial aid to fill out the FAFSA. Because the university spent less of its institutional dollars on private scholarships and aid, Norris said it was able to use the extra money to fill the gap.
“This is something that worked for UNO this one time,” he said. “This should not be construed as something that is a one-size-fits-all approach. Obviously we have a much smaller percentage of TOPS students than does LSU and other institutions and also a decent amount of PELL-eligible students, so there’s a whole lot of factors that go into this.”
Norris said he doesn’t want UNO giving the impression that all public colleges in the state should act similarly, and this method was what worked best for the university in this specific instance.
What UNO decides to do for the fall semester depends on the state of TOPS funding at that point and the Legislature’s actions in the next session, he said.
In a statement released Nov. 15, Gov. John Bel Edwards stood by his position from the end of the Legislature’s second special session, when he said he thought lawmakers were making a mistake by frontloading TOPS for the fall.
Edwards said the state failed students regarding student debt, and he hopes to reinstate funding for the program through bipartisan efforts in the 2017 regular session.
“In fact, despite the budget shortfalls we’re currently facing, we will not be making further cuts to this program,” Edwards said. “Today, we risk having an influx of students drop out of college or leave with burdensome debt. We can and must do better.”
Northwestern State University also announced that it would cover its students TOPS shortfall next semester.