As the cost of attending college in Pennsylvania rises, the proportion of college costs covered by the commonwealth's need-based college grants continues to decline, leaving many students and state officials worried about the future of college costs.

According to the Penn State Office of Student Aid, in the past four years, the proportion of college costs that the average grant covers at Penn State has decreased from 36 to 25 percent.

"At Penn State, the tuition continues to increase, but the grant value has remained the same," said Melissa Kunes, director for student aid programs in the Office of Student Aid. "In 1994, the maximum Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) grant covered 51 percent of Penn State tuition and fees, but this year it only covers 32 percent of those same costs."

Chrysten Pappas (sophomore-hotel, restaurant and institutional management), has received financial aid from grants since her freshman year, but says her family was surprised by the small amount of grant money she was awarded.

"The state needs to re-evaluate who receives financial aid because the students who really do need the money aren't getting enough to help pay for their college education," she said. "I think lots of students end up enrolling at community colleges because the grants are just not enough to cover the cost of attending a school like Penn State."

According to PHEAA, which awards the state-funded grants to students, the question that needs to be answered is whether it is better to have a smaller number of students that receive larger grants, or a larger group of students with smaller grant amounts.

"The demand from students in need is larger than the supply of grant money we have," Nicole Elbertson, PHEAA communications specialist, said. "To address the problem, PHEAA has appointed a State Grant Task Force, which is currently working to find the best way to meet the needs of students."

Anna Griswold, assistant vice provost for enrollment management and administration in the Office of Student Aid, is a member of the State Grant Task Force, which is comprised of representatives and officials from a broad range of educational institutions in Pennsylvania.

"Right now, we are simply gathering information by going around the state and conducting hearings, and listening to student's and school official's opinions," Griswold said. "We want to be aware of who will be affected by any changes that we make to the current formula that is used to distribute grants."

Griswold said one idea that has been considered is to base the current formula on a family's income level.

"By basing the formula on a family's income level, we would have a tiered approach, where family income could be divided into different income bands and variable amounts would be distributed.

"The highest income band would receive less money, while the lowest income band would receive the most money," she said.