Some Penn State students said they would support a federal bill regulating college tuition increases, even after the House Republicans decided to remove a portion of the bill that would punish tuition increases at colleges and universities.

In October 2003, Rep. Howard McKeon (R-Calif.) re-introduced the Affordability in Higher Education Act.

On March 3, House Republicans decided to remove the portion of the legislation that would penalize the colleges for increasing tuition repeatedly by large amounts, but McKeon said that he will bring back this portion of the bill if the increases in tuition continue.

Penn State spokesman Bill Mahon said Penn State offers a hands-on learning experience for students in Pennsylvania, and legislation like this could harm the more expensive educational programs at the university.

"We support high quality at Penn State and are in favor of low cost, but we'll always come down on the side of high quality if we have to make a choice," Mahon said.

The purpose of the federal bill is to make college tuition more affordable by encouraging consumer empowerment. It would hold colleges accountable for a tuition increase that is more than twice the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for three years.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor Web site, the CPI is a program that gives monthly reports on the prices urban consumers pay for a representative basket of both goods and services.

"Congressman John Peterson (R-Pa.) supports the majority of Congressman McKeon's proposals for reducing college tuition and fees, but he has some concerns about penalizing universities for noncompliance, especially if it will ultimately result in higher tuition for students," Peterson's press secretary, Paul Feenstra, said.

He said Peterson was pleased that the American Association of State Colleges and Universities was working with colleges to reduce costs.

If the bill is made into law, colleges would still determine tuition rates, but beginning in 2011, the federal government would have the power to remove direct subsidies if the college repeatedly increased tuition by an unreasonable amount.

"Tuition hasn't gotten to the point where it would be unreasonable for me, but it sounds good for the students," John Hagan (junior-kinesiology) said.

If a college fails to comply with the standards, the institution will not be able to participate in programs that fall under Title IV of the Higher Education Act. A college not able to receive federal subsidies will not affect students applying for Pell Grants and Direct Stafford Loans.

Erin O'Brien (sophomore-international politics) said she thought McKeon's proposal would have benefits for students.

"It's good motivation to keep tuition low, but tuition will still rise because colleges need to maintain higher standards for education. It's a no-win situation," O'Brien said.

Christopher Lemmo (sophomore-finance) said he did not think the federal government should get involved in monitoring tuition increases.

"It should be left up to colleges. Each college is different and has its own agendas," Lemmo said.

The Higher Education Act also tries to eliminate the barriers students face when transferring credits. The legislation does not require that any university accept all coursework, but it does require that the coursework be analyzed based on its merits.

Penn State will accept credits from a regionally accredited institution, Penn State Registrar Jim Wager said. He added that Penn State does not have a restrictive credit acceptance policy.

Wager said that credit equivalency should be determined by colleges.

"[Credit transferring is] a faculty issue. It's an academic issue," he said.

Hagan said he thought that the legislation would encourage colleges to explore cost-cutting measures, but he added that he didn't think that the cost cutting would result in negative effects over the long run.

"Tuition right now is at an all-time high, pretty much. It would make [colleges] think twice about how much they need to increase tuition. I can't see it hurting," Hagan said.