Louisiana’s First Choice for College Access

State Update10/29/10

LOSFA Advisory Committee

We want to welcome:Ms. Taina Savoit, McNeese State University

Ms. Vicki Temple, Bossier Parish Community College

Mr. K. Michaal Francois, Southern University at Shreveport

www.osfa.la.gov

Thank you for your service:

Mrs. Calaundra Clark, Baton Rouge Community College

Ms. Kathy Woods, Southern University – New Orleans

Mr. Roger Vick, Louisiana Tech University

Patrick Gorman, LSU Health Science Center*

www.osfa.la.gov

Advisory Committee

TOPS Tuition Program

State General Fund $119,604,393 53%

Tobacco Settlement $15,007,886 7%

Total TOPS Tuition Program $134,612,279 60%

Go Grant Program $26,429,108 12%

Early Start Program $5,500,000 2%

START Saving Program (EE) $1,700,000 1%

LEAP State Match $1,024,687 0%

Rockefeller Scholarship Program $60,000 0%

Interagency Transfers:

BOR HCELF Program $160,000 0%

Chafee Grant Program $480,000 0% $169,966,074 76%

Operations $3,898,469 2%

Total State Funding $173,864,543 78%www.osfa.la.gov

LOSFA Budget SFY 2011

Fall Semester 2010

Community Colleges $713,100

Private Colleges/Universities $300

Public Colleges/Universities $1,276,400

Technical Colleges $1,081,600

$3,071,400

Fall Quarter 2010 Louisiana Tech $179,100

Total $3,250,500

$2,249,500 Early Start Funds Remaining. November 15th deadline for collection of corrected data. Payments will process.

www.osfa.la.gov

Early Start

Fall Semester 2010

Community Colleges $302,962.50

Private Colleges/Universities $666,896.50

Public Colleges/Universities $4,724,213.50

Technical Colleges $46,350.50

$5,740,422.50

Fall Quarter 2010 Louisiana Tech $317,025.00

Total $6,057,447.50

$128,554,831 Go Grant Funds Remaining.

www.osfa.la.gov

Go Grant

Fall Semester 2010

Community Colleges $1,237,026.45

Private Colleges/Universities $2,485,610.00

Public Colleges/Universities $58,651,134.51

Technical Colleges $60,640.00

Fall Quarter 2010 Louisiana Tech $3,820,231.54

Total $66,254,642.50

$67.7 M remains in TOPS appropriation as f October 26, 2010 billing

www.osfa.la.gov

TOPS

May 4, 2010: The Rockefeller State Wildlife Scholarship was changed from a loan forgiveness program to a pure scholarship program beginning with awards made during the 2010-11 academic year.

▪Limit awards to undergraduates who have earned at least 60 hours of college credit;▪Allow students who received Rockefeller awards during the 2009-2010 academic year with less than 60 credit hours to receive the award for the 2010-2011 academic year;▪Increase the award amount for undergraduates to $2,000/year and graduate students to $3,000/year;▪Increase the cumulative maximum award to $12,000 for three years of undergraduate study and two years of graduate study;▪Allow disbursement of unexpended academic year funds to recipients who enroll full time during the summer▪Maintain Repayment requirement for funds received by students prior to 2010-2011 academic year for students who don’t graduate in one of the specified majors

www.osfa.la.gov

Rockefeller Changes

▪September 15, 2010: The TOPS application deadline was modified. Effective with the 2010 high school graduating class, students who file their TOPS application on or before July 1 following the one year anniversary of high school graduation will receive their TOPS award beginning with their first term at an eligible Louisiana Institution. The TOPS payment will not be made until the application is received, the student has been determined eligible, has enrolled in an eligible institution and the institution has billed LOSFA.

▪Beginning with the 2010-2011 academic year, the National Guard stipend to be awarded for books and instructional materials increased from $150 per semester to $300 per semester. The National Guard stipends for increased from $200 to $400 per semester for the TOPS Performance Award and from $400 to $800 per semester for the Honors Award.

▪Beginning with the 2010-2011 academic year, students awarded the TOPS Opportunity, Performance and Honors awards may use them to attend approved proprietary and cosmetology schools.

www.osfa.la.gov

TOPS Changes

Change in award methodology beginning with 2010-2011 AY:▪No separate calculation to determine a student’s ECG is necessary▪New method uses the student’s cost of attendance and the student’s actual Pell award amount (not full time Pell amount)▪New method allots the same award amount for each student based on enrollment status (award amount is no longer based on student’s ECG amount)▪New method still asserts that the Go Grant award may cause the student to exceed federal financial need or COA so there may still be a need for schools to reduce the Go Grant award in which case the “overaward” billing indicator would be coded as “Y” (yes)

$900 – Full Time Enrollment$450 – Half Time Enrollment$225 – Part time Enrollment

www.osfa.la.gov

Go Grant Changes

The Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance will close Friday, October 29th, through Tuesday, November 2nd, as the agency moves from its Wooddale location to its new location downtown at the Galvez Building, 602 North Fifth Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70802. During this time all server operations are also being moved, so the LOSFA websites www.osfa.la.gov and www.startsaving.la.gov will be down as well. However, www.facebook.com/losfa will still be available during this time so you can check that website for updates. LOSFA and its websites will re-open Wednesday, November 3rd.

TOPS Renewal, John Bell – (225)219-7674Tops Initial Eligibility, Susan Bohall - (225)219-7842Special Programs, Bonnie Lavergne – (225)219-7714

www.osfa.la.gov

Other Changes

The LOSFA Section formerly known as School and lender Services is now called Financial Literacy and Development.

Sigmund Morel – (225) 219 – 7558Jennifer Guhman – (225) 219 - 7566

www.osfa.la.gov

Other Changes cont.

Chafee Educational Training Voucher (ETV) Program

The Chafee Educational and Training Voucher (ETV) Program awards up to $5,000 annually during the academic year to qualified students who have been in the foster care system so they can pursue an academic college education or technical and skill training in college to be prepared to enter the workforce. The actual award amount is determined by the student’s financial need, which is calculated in accordance with the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended.

John R. Justice Student Loan Repayment Program

The John R. Justice Student Loan Repayment Program in Louisiana provides for the payment of eligible educational loans (both Federal Family Education Loan Program [FFELP] and Federal Direct Loans) for state and federal public defenders and state prosecutors employed in Louisiana who agree to remain employed as public defenders and prosecutors for at least three years.

www.osfa.la.gov

New Programs

Budget Cuts

Louisiana Awards System

Was Deployed during the week of August 30th. Although the system has shown many positive attributes we hadn’t anticipated that it wouldn’t be running normal today. Our IT Division is working diligently with our contractors to address issues with the system.

www.osfa.la.gov

Challenges

Over ½ Million Served!

www.osfa.la.gov

Outreach

Thank you to:

All Site Coordinators and Volunteers who made the 2010 event a success

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College Goal Sunday

■We Collected 348 Student/Family Surveys during the 2010 Event. Key Findings:

▪ 43% of CGS participants in Louisiana learned about the program through their high school; 15% reported learning about it through their college, and 14% reported learning about it through the media.

▪Of those who learned about the CGS program through their high school, half (51%) reported learning about it from a teacher or a guidance counselor. In colleges, admissions and financial aid counselors had the greatest reach, reaching 51% of those participants.

▪Overall, 77% of participants belonged to the target audience. Additionally, 57% of participants were female, while 43% were male.

www.osfa.la.gov

College Goal Sunday

▪CGS in Louisiana did well in attracting Black and low income students, and participants whose parents attended college but did not have a degree.

▪However, the program had some difficulty in attracting Hispanic students, and has significant scope for improvement in attracting students whose parents did not graduate high school.

▪ Four sites (Baton Rouge Community College, Dillard University, St. James High School, and Southern University) had turn-outs of at least 10 students, of whom at least 80% belonged to the target audience. Noteworthy are St. James High School, where all 14 participants were from the target audience, and Dillard University, where 97% of the 36 participants were from the target audience.

www.osfa.la.gov

College Goal Sunday cont.

www.osfa.la.gov

College Goal 2011

www.osfa.la.gov

College Goal 2011

• ▪The initial 3 year grant for College Goal Sunday ended on June 30, 2010.

• ▪$54,835.56

• ▪Scholarships must still be paid with outside donations

http://www.facebook.com/LOSFA

http://www.twitter.com/LOSFA

http://www.youtube.com/ LOSFA1000

http://www.Flickr.com/LOSFA

TOPS Blog

http://www.louisianatopsprogram.com/

LOSFA Social Sites

Contact Information

www.osfa.la.gov

custserv@osfa.la.gov

(800) 259-5626 Ext. 1012

(225) 922-10128:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Monday - Friday