A report that raises concerns about the high cost of tuition, Penn State's affordability to Pennsylvania students and the risk of moving to a "more elite" student body was sent to the university president's desk yesterday.

For two years, the Senate Committee on Admissions, Records, Scheduling and Student Aid compiled data and examined national and Penn State financial trends. It attributed the lack of affordability to decreasing federal student aid programs, reduced support from the Pennsylvania government and tuition increasing faster than inflation and family incomes.

"Penn State risks movement toward a more elite student body, which can afford the cost of tuition while many low-and middle-income students have to question whether the university is affordable," according to the 38-page report, which was approved yesterday by the University Faculty Senate.

Penn State charges the highest in-state tuition of any public university in the U.S. In the past 10 years, tuition and fees for in-state students have more than doubled. For the 1995-96 academic year, in-state students paid $5,308. In the 2005-06 academic year, in-state students paid $11,508, the report said.

Last year, 80 percent of students received financial aid, but only 40 percent of that aid is awarded on the basis of financial need. Among the Big Ten universities, Penn State ranks last for the ratio of awarded scholarships and grants to total cost.

Penn State seniors graduate with an average of $22,420 in loans, which is almost $7,000 more than the national average, the report stated.

Penn State President Graham Spanier said he had been out of town and had not read the report yet.

"I'm on the road the majority of my time now as part of a campaign to raise scholarship money," Spanier said. "Our total aid is more than $40 million, and this doesn't satisfy the needs of all students. This shows the scope of the problem."

In its report, the committee recommended that the university continue to emphasize fundraising for need-based financial aid. They also recommended the University Development Office continue to ask donors for gifts and endowments for financially needy students.

The office of the president will enact the approved report.

Already, the Office of Financial Aid supplies links on their Web site to help students find external sources of financial aid. They also interview potential loan candidates and counsel graduating seniors on their responsibilities as a loan borrower, said Anna Griswold, executive director of financial aid and a member of the Senate Committee.

Affordability remains a concern when the Board of Trustees sets the price of tuition every year, Spanier said.

"Many think students will graduate and make high enough salaries to pay off that debt," he said. "But most students see those numbers as pretty scary."