By Kimmy Nevas

Although rising tuition is forcing college students everywhere to survive on Ramen noodles and drain their parents’ retirement accounts, students of higher education can take heart. Hope may lie ahead in the House of Representatives.

A proposal to amend and extend the Higher Education Act of 1965 is being considered in this session of Congress. One of the bill’s primary objectives is to control runaway tuition hikes.

Introduced by Reps. John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) and Howard “Buck” McKeon (R-Calif.), the College Access and Opportunity Act would penalize colleges for tuition increases consistently higher than the rate set by a College Affordability Index, which would be defined as twice the rate of inflation, based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The CPI measures the cost of consumer goods in major metropolitan areas.

A press release from Rep. McKeon’s office stated that “an institution that increases its tuition and fees more than two times the CPI for an interval of three years would have to provide … a management and action plan on how to reduce increases in its costs and tuition fees.”

Failure to comply with a plan to reduce the cost of tuition could result in an audit by the U.S. Department of Education, according to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce’s summary of the bill. The school could also face a variety of sanctions, including loss of government assistance.

Last year, Northeastern students saw their tuition rise 6.2 percent. However, the inflation rate, as of September, is 4.5 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The rate in 2004 was 2.5 percent.

The cost of tuition this year at Northeastern is $14,200 per semester, but an undergraduate’s cost of attendance averages about $37,000 a year after meals, housing, recreational, activity, residence and student fees are factored in, according to the Office of Student Accounts.

The College Board released a report in October highlighting the rising cost of a college education. The report showed that tuition increases at public four-year institutions were significantly higher this year than in the past two years.

According to the report, the average cost of tuition and fees at a four-year private school is $21,235. This is $1,190 higher than last year, or a 5.9 percent increase.

Four-year public institutions posted an average increase of $365 this year, to $5,491 – a 7.1 percent hike.

Tuition rates are studied by the Financial Advisory and Budget Committees, said Senior Vice President of Enrollment and Student Life Philomena Mantella.

“We look at the cost of education and the needs of students and enhancements such as bringing in additional faculty,” she said. “We also look at energy costs. The Financial Advisory Committee then makes recommendations to [Provost] Ahmed Abdelal.”

The committee is made up of two students, as well as several faculty and administrative staff, she said.

Rising tuition rates may lead some students to wonder if their money is being spent wisely. Wenjie Tang, a physics graduate student, said she thinks the university should be more forthcoming about the fees students are responsible for.

“Sometimes I have questions about the fees I should pay,” Tang said. “[For example], I don’t know what the Curry fees or the international fees are about.”

Julie Benjamin, a sophomore American Sign Language major, said she feels the legislation would be a positive step.

“Congress should definitely help out. It is not fair for tuition to be as high as it is. It runs counter to the American principle of social mobility. When applying for FAFSA, the quality of your high school, and tuition of private high schools, even, are not taken into consideration. This means that people are not getting financial aid who desperately need it,” Benjamin said.