Congress is again tackling the issue of college costs. Two years ago, the National Commission on the Cost of Higher Education, a congressional task force, released an analysis of why college costs rose so high during the preceding decade. On Feb. 9 and 10, the U.S. Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs revisited the topic; the committee heard from several panels made up of college educators and presidents, a student, and economic and policy analysts. They paid particular attention to the controversial use of merit aid, the impact of loan debt on students, and scholarship fraud. Opening the hearings, committee chair Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.) declared that the public has a right to know why tuition has risen almost three times as fast as the Consumer Price Index or median household income for the years 1990-96.

Jamie Pueschel, from the U.S. Students Association, told of leaving college with a $20,000 debt. Students feel they are almost required to have a college education to survive, Pueschel said, but many also believe that they are not getting a fair value for their education. Pueschel suggested that the government make Pell funding mandatory and increase the amount of the maximum grant.

In the next panel, Claire Lynn Gaudiani, president of Connecticut College, explained the negative effect merit aid is having on college access for the financially disadvantaged (see Off the Tower, page 18). William F. Massy, president of the Jackson Hole Higher Education Group Inc., presented an alternative, free-market picture of college funding and pronounced merit aid, a healthy thing. William E. Trout, president of Rhodes College and chairman of the National Commission on the Cost of Higher Education, noted that the government needs to help colleges keep tuition affordable for students. He also recounted ways Rhodes College has saved money by joining forces with 14 other colleges to share resources. David W. Breneman, of the University of Virginia, suggested that Congress reverse the anti-trust ruling of 1989 and allow colleges to share information on students' financial aid applications and awards. This would alleviate the "positional arms race," he noted.

Lawrence E. Gladieux, then executive director for policy analysis at the College Board, testified next that ensuring access is not the problem, but ensuring that students complete college is. To address this, he believes that the government should remain focused on helping those with the most need and restoring the purchasing power of the Pell grants. Taking a different tack, Michael S. McPherson, president of Macalester College, says the issue at hand is access. He believes that students should be able to decide whether they want to go to college. If they choose not to go, they should have feasible alternative programs such as vocational training.

As part of the final panel, senators heard from Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of FinAid Page, who spoke on the increasing number of scholarship frauds. He mentioned that victims were losing $100 million annually and that the public must become more aware of this problem.