§ 17:5002 — Awards and amounts

Louisiana § 17:5002

• Jurisdiction: Louisiana
• Title 17: Credit Union Law

Text

§5002. Awards and amounts
A. A student shall be eligible for an Opportunity, Performance, Honors, Excellence,
or TOPS-Tech Award based on his academic achievement.
B. Any student who is eligible for an Opportunity, Performance, or Honors Award
pursuant to this Chapter and who has enrolled:
(1) In any public college or university in this state, shall be awarded by the state an
amount determined by the administering agency to equal the tuition charged by the public
college or university during the 2016-2017 academic year.
(2) At any independent college or university in the state that is a member of the
Louisiana Association of Independent Colleges and Universities and that is accredited by an
institutional accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education to
pursue an academic undergraduate degree, shall be awarded by the state an amount to be
determined by the administering agency to equal the weighted average of the tuition amounts
charged to students attending public colleges and universities that offer academic
undergraduate degrees at the baccalaureate level during the 2016-2017 academic year.
(3) In a school that has a valid and current certificate of registration issued by the
Louisiana State Board of Cosmetology in accordance with law and that is accredited by an
accrediting organization recognized by the United States Department of Education or in any
proprietary school that has a valid and current license issued by the Board of Regents in
accordance with law and that is accredited by an accrediting organization recognized by the
United States Department of Education, shall be awarded by the state an amount determined
by the administering agency to equal the weighted average of the tuition amounts charged
to students attending public colleges and universities during the 2016-2017 academic year
and who are enrolled in the permitted skill or occupational training, as may be applicable.
(4) In an out-of-state college or university that is specifically designed to
accommodate deaf and hard-of-hearing students under R.S. 17:5027(C), shall be awarded
an amount determined by the administering agency to equal the weighted average of the
tuition amounts charged to students attending Louisiana public colleges and universities that
offer academic undergraduate degrees during the 2016-2017 academic year.
C.(1) A student who is eligible for the Performance Award shall receive the sum of
two hundred dollars per semester or four hundred dollars per academic year in addition to
the amount provided for in Subsection B of this Section.
(2) A student who is eligible for the Honors Award shall receive the sum of four
hundred dollars per semester or eight hundred dollars per academic year in addition to the
amount provided for in Subsection B of this Section.
D.(1) Except as otherwise provided in this Subsection, a student who is eligible for
a TOPS-Tech Award pursuant to this Chapter and who is enrolled:
(a) In an eligible public college or university that does not offer an academic
undergraduate degree at the baccalaureate level in those associate's degree or other
shorter-term training and education programs as determined by the advisory council pursuant
to R.S. 17:3047.1, shall be awarded by the state an amount determined by the administering
agency to equal the tuition charged by the college or university during the 2016-2017
academic year. If such council determines that a program is no longer aligned with those
priorities, an otherwise eligible student who had previously received an award and enrolled
in that program may continue to use the award.
(b) In an eligible college or university other than as provided for in Subparagraph (a)
of this Paragraph in those associate's degree or other shorter-term training education
programs as determined by the advisory council pursuant to R.S. 17:3047.1, shall be awarded
by the state an amount determined by the administering agency to equal the weighted average
of the tuition amounts charged to students attending an eligible public college or university
that does not offer an academic undergraduate degree at the baccalaureate level during the
2016-2017 academic year. If such council determines that a program is no longer aligned
with those priorities, an otherwise eligible student who had previously received an award and
enrolled in that program may continue to use the award.
(2) A student who graduated prior to the 2016-2017 school year, who is eligible for
a TOPS-Tech Award pursuant to this Chapter, and who is enrolled:
(a) In an eligible college or university that does not offer an academic undergraduate
degree at the baccalaureate level, shall be awarded by the state an amount determined by the
administering agency to equal the tuition charged by the college or university during the
2016-2017 academic year.
(b) In an eligible college or university other than as provided for in Subparagraph (a)
of this Paragraph, shall be awarded by the state an amount determined by the administering
agency to equal the weighted average of the tuition amounts charged to students attending
an eligible public college or university that does not offer an academic undergraduate degree
at the baccalaureate level during the 2016-2017 academic year.
E.(1) No student shall be eligible for tuition payment pursuant to this Section for the
Opportunity Award, the Performance Award, the Honors Award, or the Excellence Award
for more than eight semesters or an equivalent number of units in an eligible institution
which operates on a schedule based on units other than semesters, unless an extension is
granted by the administering agency in accordance with its rules.
(2) No student shall be eligible for tuition payment pursuant to this Section for the
TOPS-Tech Award for more than two years unless an extension is granted by the
administering agency in accordance with its rules.
(3)(a) Any student receiving an Opportunity, Performance, Honors, or Excellence
Award who successfully completes an academic undergraduate degree in less than the eight
semesters or its equivalent of award benefits provided by this Subsection shall be eligible to
continue to receive all applicable award benefits, in accordance with the limitations as
specified in Subparagraph (b) of this Paragraph, for any remaining semester or semesters or
the equivalent thereof of eligibility not used to obtain the undergraduate degree if the student
pursues a postgraduate academic degree at an eligible institution and the student continues
to meet all academic and other requirements provided by this Section and by rule of the
administering agency for continued receipt of the award as an undergraduate except as such
requirements, including requirements provided by this Section for undergraduate students,
may be modified by the administering agency as necessary to apply such requirements to
postgraduate study.
(b) In developing rules to implement this Paragraph, the administering agency shall
establish reasonable timelines and deadlines for receipt of any information required to
implement this Paragraph both for current and subsequent students receiving Opportunity,
Performance, Honors, or Excellence awards and for any student previously receiving such
an award who successfully completed an academic undergraduate degree in less than eight
semesters. Such rules shall also provide for appropriate notice to all such students of the
timelines, deadlines, and rules governing implementation of this Paragraph.
(c) The amount of the award benefits as provided for in Subparagraph (a) of this
Paragraph shall not exceed the amounts determined by the administering agency to equal the
tuition charged for the postgraduate study or for undergraduate full-time enrollment charged
by the highest cost public college or university in the state, whichever amount is less.
F. No student shall receive a grant pursuant to this Section in an amount greater than
the tuition charged by the institution attended or, if the student is the recipient of a
Performance or an Honors Award as provided for in Subsection C of this Section, the amount
stipulated therein. The institution shall credit any amount in excess of the cost of tuition to
the student's account to pay room and board or other cost of attendance.
G. In lieu of the payment of tuition as provided in this Section, any student
participating in the program provided by R.S. 29:36.1 for persons serving in the Louisiana
National Guard shall receive the tuition exemption as provided therein. In addition to any
other payments provided for by R.S. 29:36.1:
(1) For any student who also meets the qualifications provided in this Chapter for
receipt of an Opportunity Award or a TOPS-Tech Award, the state shall pay on behalf of
such student a sum of three hundred dollars per semester or six hundred dollars per academic
year to be applied toward the cost of books and other instructional materials.
(2) For any student who also meets the qualifications provided in this Chapter for
receipt of a Performance Award, the state shall pay on behalf of the student a sum of three
hundred dollars per semester or six hundred dollars per academic year to be applied toward
the cost of books and other instructional materials plus the sum of four hundred dollars per
semester or eight hundred dollars per academic year for other educational expenses as
defined by the administering agency.
(3) For any student who also meets the qualifications provided in this Chapter for
receipt of an Honors Award, the state shall pay on behalf of the student a sum of three
hundred dollars per semester or six hundred dollars per academic year to be applied toward
the cost of books and other instructional materials plus the sum of eight hundred dollars per
semester or one thousand six hundred dollars per academic year for other educational
expenses as defined by the administering agency.
(4) For any student who also meets the qualifications provided in this Chapter for
receipt of an Excellence Award, the state shall pay on behalf of the student a sum of three
hundred dollars per semester or six hundred dollars per academic year to be applied toward
the cost of books and other instructional materials plus the sum of one thousand dollars per
semester or two thousand dollars per academic year for other educational expenses as defined
by the administering agency.
H. In lieu of the payment of tuition as provided in this Section, any student
participating in the program provided by R.S. 17:1688 for disabled veterans shall receive the
tuition exemption provided in that Section.
I.(1) Any student who is eligible for an Excellence Award pursuant to this Chapter
and who has enrolled in any public college or university in this state, shall be awarded by the
state either an amount determined by the administering agency to equal the tuition charged
by the public college or university or twelve thousand dollars, whichever is less.
(2) Any student who is eligible for an Excellence Award pursuant to this Chapter and
who has enrolled in any independent college or university in this state that is a member of
the Louisiana Association of Independent Colleges and Universities and that is accredited
by an institutional accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of
Education to pursue an academic degree, shall be awarded by the state either an amount
determined by the administering agency equal to the tuition charged by the independent
college or university or eight thousand five hundred dollars, whichever is less.
(3) For purposes of this Subsection, "tuition" means the annual resident tuition and
fees charged by the institution as reported in the Board of Regents annual mandatory tuition
and fees survey.

Legislative History

Acts 2015, No. 227, §1; Acts 2015, No. 230, §2, eff. June 23, 2015; Acts 2016, No. 18, §1, eff. May 9, 2016; Acts 2017, No. 44, §1, eff. June 3, 2017; Acts 2017, No. 97, §1; Acts 2021, No. 95, §1, eff. June 4, 2021; Acts 2023, No. 224, §1; Acts 2025, No. 152, §1, eff. June 8, 2025; Acts 2025, No. 347, §1.