The University Faculty Senate has asked administrators to embark on a $100 million fund-raising campaign to combat rising tuition costs that could indicate more and more students will be unable to pay for a Penn State education.

In 1992-93, 66 percent of all University undergraduates applied for financial assistance. They needed a total of $227.9 million but came up more than $63 million short.

"We've got a problem, and it's getting worse," said David E. Roth, associate professor of engineering at Penn State Erie and a member of the Faculty Senate's Committee on Admissions, Records, Scheduling and Student Aid.

The call for a massive aid-endowment campaign was just one of several proposals the Senate passed yesterday. The committee's plan to fight disturbing financial-aid trends also calls for the University to:

-- Set a goal to supply unmet needed financial aid so that every undergraduate student can afford tuition, fees, room, board and books. The undertaking would cost an additional $15 million.

-- Offer more competitive financial-aid packages by offering more grants and less loans.

-- Look into additional funding sources, such as a percentage of all ticket sales to Penn State events.

Support of the committee's plan from faculty and administrators will be vital to solving the University's dearth of available financial aid, said Anna Griswold, assistant vice provost for student financial aid. Without that support, which she identified as only a first step toward improvement, Penn State would probably find itself in an even tighter financial-aid bind.

"I think the trends would just continue" Griswold said. "It will continue to be difficult for students to stay in college."

But some professors are concerned that the committee's recommendations go too far.

"This is not a Penn State obligation at this time," said Donald Rung, professor of mathematics. The burden of meeting students' needs should rest on the state's shoulders, he said.

"I don't think Penn State is in any position to embark on what is before us at this time," Rung said. "I don't think Penn State can afford this, and I consider it a serious change in our policy."

But at a time when state funds are rising more slowly than University costs and federal funds are stabilizing or declining, the options are scarce.

"What's the alternative," asked Felix Lukezic, professor of plant pathology. "Students would have to borrow more and work more."

Of the Big Ten schools, Penn State has the second-highest in-state tuition and fourth-highest out-of-state tuition.

In 1992-93, the University supplied $24.9 million to students, about 15 percent of the total aid undergraduates received. But less than $2 million of those funds were awarded on the basis of financial need. Instead, the vast majority of aid was earmarked for academic, diversity and athletic reasons --regardless of the financial status of students receiving the money.

Not authorized to set financial aid policies, the Faculty Senate can only make recommendations. The choice to accept or reject the proposals belongs to administrators, who have already expressed support for ongoing plans to launch a major fund-raising campaign for more financial-aid resources.