College students who have been receiving TOPS but are choosing not to take classes in the fall must fill out an exemption form with LOSFA or lose their TOPS eligibility.
You can find the list of exemption reasons on the LOSFA website under the exemption request form inside the TOPS Fall 2020 Q&A section. LOSFA director Dr. Sujuan Boutte warns that applying is no guarantee.
“Just because you file an exception does not mean it is going to be approved, that very much is dependent upon whether the student is able to provide the documentation required,” says Boutte.
The exemption form can be found here. Click here for a PDF of the Exception-Request-Form.
Some exemption reasons include if you or a person in your household have morbidities that exacerbate COVID-19, medically documented anxiety related to contracting COVID-19, or a learning disability that precludes online learning.
Boutte says for those uncomfortable with in-person classes, but who want to maintain their eligibility.
“The student can choose to attend online, some campuses have a hybrid, the student can choose to attend that hybrid, the TOPS award is going to be the same regardless of which option they chose,” says Boutte.
If you do switch from taking in-person classes to online courses Boutte says you’ll still have to meet GPA and full-time student requirements.
“The student needs to be able to do that whether it is at a two year or a four year and you still need to maintain and complete those 24 hours for the year,” says Boutte.
Spring 2020 high school grads have until fall 2021 to enroll before they lose eligibility.
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