How much money states provide their need-based aid programs plays a bigger role in influencing the college-going rates of high-school graduates than several other factors, including the cost of public-college tuition, state demographic trends, and state spending on elementary and secondary education, according to a study released by the Lumina Foundation for Education.

A 38-page report on the study, "Expanding College Access: The Impact of State Finance Strategies," recommends that states increase their spending on need-based aid to help improve college participation, especially among students from low-income families. To do so, the report promotes two strategies.

States, it says, should consider adopting policies that more closely link state-aid awards with tuition so that grants increase as tuition does. For instance, state officials should commit to providing enough money for state need-based aid programs so that the total amount of grants would at least equal one-quarter of the average public-college tuition in the state, multiplied by the state's total full-time college enrollment, the report recommends.

Alternatively, the report suggests that state and federal officials develop a collaborative approach to awarding aid. The report recommends that states and the federal government create a joint need-based aid program, under which the maximum award in each state would equal the cost of average tuition at that state's public colleges.

The report envisions that one-third of that joint program's funds would come from the federal government and the rest from states. In addition to that aid, the report recommends that the federal government offer another need-based program, which would provide a maximum award equal to the national average cost for a college student's room and board.

"Investing sufficiently in student grants represents an efficient use of tax dollars," the report says, "especially if the goal of public policy is to equalize postsecondary opportunity."