The University of Redlands is one of 220 private colleges and universities nationally offering families a new way to plan ahead for the rising costs of tuition.

The Independent 529 plan allows a parent or grandparent to prepay tuition at today's rates for children to use when they reach college age, said Phillip Doolittle, senior vice president at the University of Redlands.

"It makes private education more accessible and more affordable for families," Doolittle said by phone. The plan was unveiled Wednesday.

For example, a grandparent may receive a tuition certificate after paying $20,000 for one year of college tuition at current rates. When that grandchild is a college freshman he or she can use the certificate for the then full cost of that year's tuition.

Meanwhile, the plan's managers take the original $20,000 and invest it. The family's one year of tuition holds its value regardless of how those investments turn out, Doolittle said.

"It's like a spending certificate at the mall . . . except it's good for a guarantee of a percentage of tuition," said Douglas M. Brown, president and chief executive of the Tuition Plan Consortium of Albuquerque, N.M., which operates the plan. The consortium is a nonprofit organization run by representatives from various universities.

Southern California schools participating in the plan include California Lutheran University, Occidental College, Pepperdine University, Pomona College, University of San Diego and Whittier College.

Nationally, the program includes Harvard, Yale, Princeton and the University of Chicago.

Most states offer Section 529 education savings plans, named for the IRS tax code that defines them. But this is the first tailored for private colleges and universities.

"It's a good way for families to save for education," Doolittle said. "For us in the private sector where the perception is that we are expensive, this is a good way to offer families a discount.

The funds are transferable to other family members. They can also be rolled over into a state 529 plan if the student chooses to go to a public college or cashed out if he or she decides not to attend college at all.

The consortium received approximately 8,000 hits Wednesday on www.independent529plan.org, Doolittle said.

Participating schools plan to market the venture in various ways, such as putting ads in alumni magazines. University of Redlands will send mailers to all of its alumni.

Joseph F. Hurley, president and chief executive of savingforcollege.com and an expert on the Section 529 programs, said the new plan should be attractive to parents who want their children to go to a private college and are worrying about the steep rise in tuition.

"You pay now, so you don't have to worry about those increases, which have been substantial," Hurley said.