Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich recently proposed giving a tax credit of up to $1,000 in tuition money for the families of college students in his state, and some are wondering if this would be a practical solution to high tuition costs in Pennsylvania.

Blagojevich's proposal would apply to all part-time and full-time university freshmen and sophomores who keep at least a B average, said Rebecca Rausch, spokeswoman for Blagojevich. Families at every income level could receive the credit if the academic requirements are met, she said.

Rausch said Blagojevich's administration has estimated the proposal would benefit as many as 150,000 families in Illinois, but some officials in Pennsylvania said the money would be better spent on increasing direct funding to universities.

"Penn State's two primary sources of revenue are tuition and state appropriations, and we are still overcoming state funding cuts of over $50 million from the early part of this decade," Penn State spokesman Tysen Kendig said. "There is clearly a direct correlation between funding cuts and tuition increases."

Penn State is always exploring new ways to ease the tuition burden placed on students but has not given this type of proposal any specific study, Kendig said. Boosting appropriations across the board would have the biggest benefit for students, he added.

Other state officials said they feel the money would be put to better use if given directly to the university to decrease the cost of tuition.

Stephen Herzenberg, executive director and economist for the Keystone Research Center, said he thinks a more useful approach would be to find a new source of revenue that would enable the state to contribute more money to directly funding community and four-year colleges.

"I hesitate in considering a tax cut as a solution for rising tuition in Pennsylvania because that means that the money being used for a tax cut is coming from somewhere else in the state budget," he said.

Cassandra Matos (sophomore-political science and Spanish) said she was unsure how helpful the Illinois tax cut proposal would be for college students in Pennsylvania if adopted by the state.

"It's great that the government is taking some initiative to help college students finance their education," she said. "However, while $1,000 may make an impact on tuition at some schools, at Penn State where the cost is almost $20,000 a year for in-state students, I don't see this as being a huge help to most families."

The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency has been working to make college education more accessible and affordable for adults through programs such as the Workforce Advancement Grant for Education, said Barry Ciccocioppo, press secretary for the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry.

This program provides financial aid to working adults who wish to go back to school while working full time, he added.

Sean Scannell (freshman-biology) said that he thinks that $1,000 could make a huge difference for families such as his own, which will have multiple children in college at the same time.

"This year alone, I spent over $800 on my books, so if I had been able to receive a tax credit of $1,000, my books would have been covered entirely," Scannell said. "One thousand dollars can really buy you a lot, so I think that this program would be great if it came to Pennsylvania."