As members of Congress reauthorize the Higher Education Act, Penn State officials are recommending that lawmakers increase student aid programs to make college more affordable instead of using price controls.

The Higher Education Act was established in 1965 to provide financial aid programs and resources to college students. The act must be reauthorized by Congress every five to six years, a process that may include changes to the bill.

This year Congress is focusing on access, accountability and affordability when determining how the act can be improved, said Susan Grimm, director of federal relations in the Office of Governmental Affairs. Grimm said she believes the federal government should increase student loan limits when reauthorizing the bill because costs for higher education are increasing.

"When Congress reviews the student loan limits, which haven't been increased since 1992, I think it's extremely legitimate that those limits are increased," she said.

However, Grimm said she is concerned about the possibility that Congress will issue price controls making it harder for students to finish college. This is a concept that Calif. State Rep. Howard McKeon recently introduced with the Affordability in Higher Education Act. If enacted, this bill will withhold federal funding from colleges and universities that raise tuition faster than twice the rate of inflation for three consecutive years.

Vartan Djihanian, a spokesman for McKeon, has said inability to pay tuition prevents 48 percent of qualified high school graduates from attending college and that the bill will make college more affordable for students from low- and middle-income families.

Still, Grimm said she believes the bill could force institutions like Penn State to sacrifice quality.

"The national higher education system is extremely diverse," she said. "We all get different levels of state funding and we all have different governing systems. To put a one size fits all approach to that diverse system is just not possible in our view."

Rodney Erickson, executive vice president and provost, agreed that penalizing colleges and universities is not the solution to the college cost crisis.

"It doesn't take into account the declining level of state support, and that many of the costs universities are facing are rising faster than twice the rate of inflation -- costs like those unfunded mandates that are placed on universities by the federal government."

Erickson said although the level of grant support for college students has been increasing in recent years, the amount of grant money has not increased rapidly enough to keep up with the rate of inflation.

"This has affected students most directly by requiring them to secure more loan funds as part of their financial aid package," he said. "The average loan debt of graduating students across the country has increased."

He said Congress should ensure that financial aid goes to the most needy students and not to high-income families.

Clara Lovett, president of the American Association for Higher Education, said she fears implementing price controls as a solution to rising tuition rates could hurt students more than help them.

"The legislation may have unintended consequences, for instance, making it harder for individuals to go to college," Lovett said. "You might be trying to solve one problem and creating four or five problems."