According to www.tuition.psu.edu, in-state freshmen and sophomores enrolled at University Park this year paid $11,646 in tuition -- and those coming from out of state paid nearly twice as much.

For most college students -- especially those who are paying all or part of their own way -- that figure can be an intimidating number and a reason to leave school early to get a job that is bringing in the money instead of draining the bank account.

So the new program "Lion-Pay" seems to be a very productive tool for making high tuition costs less daunting on the wallet.

The new plan, run through Tuition Management Systems, allows families to pay the cost of tuition through installment payments made over the course of several months.

For students working to pay or help pay for college, working in State College trying to make enough money to pay a large lump tuition sum is seemingly impossible -- especially when relying on tips and minimum wage to foot the bill.

Students pay in installments for rent, car payments and even insurance -- why shouldn't college tuition be added to that list?

Although Penn State did have an installment plan before, the only option was a three-payments-per-semester option.

While it was a good start, allowing smaller, more frequent payments is a better method.

For families that have multiple members attending Penn State, tuition bills add up quickly. Now these families have a more feasible method of paying for several tuition bills without sacrificing the rest of the family budget.

The biggest question involving Lion-Pay is why this plan wasn't implemented earlier.

Other schools around the state, such as Millersville University, use a monthly payment system.

Tuition at those schools isn't nearly as high as it is at Penn State.

Logistically, this is another option to allow students, regardless of family income, to be able to afford to go to college.

Groans about tuition problems will never cease, but it's nice to see Penn State making an attempt to lessen the blow that comes with every tuition bill.