Although the University has no plans to initiate new tuition programs, two proposals in the state legislature could mandate colleges to implement either tuition pre-payment or tuition-savings plans.

The University has no plans to consider either program, said Kenneth Babe, University Controller.

In 1986, University President Bryce Jordan set up a committee to examine financial savings plans for families with students attending the University, Babe said. The committee concluded most institutional pre-payment plans offered no advantages over personal savings plans, he said.

The University Alumni Association also considered sponsoring a tuition- savings plan, but have not done so because the association did not want to limit alumni investors, said Rick Dorman, associate executive director for alumni relations.

Association members considered endorsing the CollegeSure tuition-savings program, but decided not to, Dorman said. The CollegeSure program enables a parent to purchase a certificate of deposit early in a child's life and redeem it for college tuition years later.

The certificate earns interest in accord with a cost-of-college index published by the College Board, said Peter Roberts, director of the College Savings Bank. Use of the index -- which calculates yearly increases in tuition, room and board -- ensures that tuition can be paid when the child attends college, he said.

Begun in 1986, CollegeSure has exclusive rights to use of the index, Roberts said.

The index has a higher rate of interest than treasury bills, treasury bonds -- including zero-coupon issues -- and municipal tax-free bonds, Roberts said. But it has never been used as an index for calculating interest on certificates before, he said.

The Alumni Association did not want to limit alumni investment by endorsing one specific program such as CollegeSure, Dorman said. Other types of investments such as real estate, stocks and bonds can be better investments than tuition-planning programs, he added.

"(The Alumni Association is) not in the business of recommending investment options for families," Dorman said.

Two types of programs are now under consideration in the state legislature. If the legislature approves either measure, their use will be mandated for the University.

The programs are modeled after two general types of plans -- pre-paid tuition and tuition-savings plans -- in place nationwide, said Caroline Raistrick, manager of program development for the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency.

State Sen. Robert C. Jubelirer, R-Blair, has proposed the Tuition Account Program -- a pre-paid tuition type plan.

The program passed the state Senate and is now in the House appropriations committee. According to the proposed legislation, before the student is college-age, parents would be able to purchase tuition credits for specific universities or types of universities, according to the bill.

The state would invest the money paid by the parents and it would earn interest based on the average annual maturity yield on ten-year U.S. government securities.

Each tuition credit purchased would pay for a credit at a given school. If the state's investment failed to actually earn the necessary tuition, the state government would pay the shortfall, according to the bill. A bureau within the state treasury department would be created to administer the program.

State Rep. Robert W. O'Donnel, D-Phila., has proposed a tuition-savings type plan. Under this plan parents could purchase state-issued tax- exempt bonds. Instead of receiving interest on the bonds over a period of years, the interest would be received at the end of a given time period -- much like a U.S. savings bond -- said Ken Adami, legislative director for O'Donnel.

Students supported some type of savings plan but varied on the type of plan they would find most useful.

"All parents want to give their kids all the opportunities they can something like that (tuition plans) would be beneficial" said Mandy Higgs (junior-special education)

Karen Klaus (sophomore-therapeutic recreation) said the plans are a good idea but she would prefer savings bonds to a pre-paid tuition program because children are not guaranteed to attend college.

"(Pre-paid tuition plan) sounds a little bit like social security - - I don't know if it would work -- if they'd get enough money back," said Karen Klaus (sophomore-therapeutic recreation).

But, Bill Thompson (sophomore-economics) said a pre-paid tuition plan would help more people than a savings plan because it would ensure a student would be able to remain in school.

Programs have been instituted in 28 states and numerous colleges nationwide. Duquesne University in Pittsburgh endorses the CollegeSure tuition savings program, Gaugahn said. Michigan instituted the first pre-paid tuition plan in 1986.