News -> INDReporter MON, AUG 20 12:43PM by Leslie Turk

As tuition rises, is TOPS sustainable?

In Monday’s Advocate Barry Erwin, president of the Council for A Better Louisiana, a nonpartisan group that studies public policy issues, questions whether the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students is sustainable in its current form while also praising the scholarship program for helping high school students better prepare for college.

The state House of Representatives Fiscal Division estimates TOPS will cost taxpayers $168 million in the current fiscal year. In five years, the program is expected to cost $233 million as colleges continue to raise tuition.

Erwin was a member of the 18-member Governance Commission created by the Legislature in 2011 to study higher education. Among the panel’s recommendations was capping the TOPS program at a set dollar figure. Another suggestion was separating the amount of money awarded from actual tuition charged and tying it to a more “appropriate” cost barometer, such as inflation or the Consumer Price Index.

The story also noted that State Rep. Patricia Smith, D-Baton Rouge, a member of the state House Education Committee, says TOPS should be capped or scaled back.

Read The Advocate story here.

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written by Michael A. Moss , August 20, 2012 - 02:47 pm

I think they should do away with TOPS. That way Jindal could double all of his department heads salaries!!

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written by GREGORY FOREMAN , August 21, 2012 - 09:36 am

The current TOPS program is a pathetic joke. Very few people are aware of the academic requirements to qualify for TOPS,i.e, minimum 2.50 GPA, or what educational institutions receive TOPS's funds. The program "should be" limited to state financed institutions, however, any(basically) all private institutions, ex., Blue Cliffs College, Remington College, University of Phoneix, etc, are on the list of receipents for TOPS funds. (A list of all private/proprietary/cosmetology(yes--cosmetology) schools can be found on the LA DEPT OF EDUCATION website.)

This is obsurd and an insult to all students that accomplished exceptional academic acheivements in high school, as well as a detriment to Louisiana's university and junior colleges.

The TOPS program under its current status must be changed to require higher academic standards(ex., 3.00 minimum GPA or higher), and the schools qualifying for TOPS funds should be limited to state established institutions.
Later/GV4man

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