It recommends that the federal government consolidate its more than 20 financial aid programs and ensure that Pell Grants, the main aid program for low-income students, cover at least 70 percent of in-state tuition costs. In 2004-2005, the grants covered less than half.
But the commission said colleges should do more to hold down costs and to better measure what students learn.
The 19-member panel, created by Spellings, has no direct power, but has been closely watched by policy makers.
Because of the panel's diverse membership -- industry, government, and for-profit and traditional colleges are represented -- any recommendations that all members agreed on would carry substantial weight as Congress, the White House, and state governments consider future education measures .
In the end, after weeks of negotiations and several drafts, chairman Charles Miller brought all but one commission member on board. The holdout, David Ward of the American Council on Education, was the primary voice of traditional colleges on the commission, and his refusal to sign on could dilute the report's influence.
Ward said he supported many of the commission's objectives, but opposed ``one size fits all" prescriptions that he said do not reflect the differing mission of colleges.
Still, Ward noted that several current and past college presidents on the commission signed on to the report at a meeting in Washington. He said colleges would pay close attention to its calls for reform.
``They now realize if they don't do it to themselves, somebody will do it to them," he said.
Miller removed a recommendation that federally backed student loans be limited to low-income students and that wealthier students instead be steered to private loans. That language had generated significant opposition, including protests from student groups.
The commission called for student achievement tests to help ``measure the relative effectiveness of different colleges and universities."
The report also recommended simplifying the application process for federal aid and directing it more toward financial need.
One recommendation calls for a 45 percent increase in funding for Pell Grants, though Miller said he had no estimate of its cost.
