The TOPS debate continues ...
I'm on TOPS.
It all started when I was a senior in high school. After earning more than a 2.5 grade point average and a decent ACT score, TOPS got me through my first two years of college.
I've kept my grades up (for the most part) and I'm still earning my TOPS scholarship today.
Lately, amid higher education budget and restructuring concerns, TOPS has been unofficially put on the chopping block.
John Lombardi, LSU System president, suggested in a speech to the Baton Rouge Rotary Club recently that TOPS should be a one-time award. TOPS currently pays full tuition for four years to students who qualify.
LSU should raise tuition and develop a stronger need-based financial aid program, he said. TOPS is a performance-based financial aid program.
According to Lombardi, the state is paying too much for students who can afford the tuition anyway.
But state Treasurer John Kennedy said yesterday the state should look into expanding the TOPS program.
Kennedy told the Times-Picayune that Louisiana spends $132 million a year on the program.
"I look forward to the day it costs $232 million a year, because I think it's money well spent," he said.
Kennedy said changing TOPS would cause “irreparable damage to one of the things Louisiana has done right."
The problem with higher education isn’t the TOPS scholarship, but the multiple boards that govern Louisiana’s public colleges and universities, he said.
Kennedy said the state needs to consolidate so that the Louisiana State University System, the Southern University System and the University of Louisiana System report to one, efficient board appointed by the governor.
Each of those systems currently report to their own boards.
By consolidating, colleges will be better able to evaluate efficiency and deal with budget strains, he said.
It will be interesting to see what changes will be made to higher education during the 2010 legislative session, which is months away.
Until then, my TOPS is intact and I’m keeping a close eye on things.
