President Bill Clinton's new two-part approach to higher education investment--a Pell Grant increase coupled with more extensive tax credits--is drawing a mixed: response among both education advocates and Republicans in Congress.

 Educators generally endorse the Pell Grant increase, which would raise the maximum grant by $300 to $3,000 next year. However, some favor an even higher figure, particularly given the economic tilt of the Clinton plan. The $300 Pell crease, aimed at lower-income students, would cost about $15 billion. The tax credits, which may benefit higher-income earners, has a price tag of $35 billion.

 "[The tax proposals] create a real dilemma for the higher education community," said Arnold Mitchem, executive director of the National Council of Educational Opportunity Associations.

 The dilemma, according to Mitchem, is that college presidents "can't go to parents" and criticize the tax plan--which costs more than the annual discretionary budget of the U.S. Education Department. It is his opinion that Congress could use the same $35 billion to raise the maximum Pell Grant to $5,000 a year, nearly double its current rate. Sen. Paul Wellstone (domino.) just introduced a bill (S. 212) to advance such a goal.

 "While Pell itself has been unable to actually reduce college tuitions, it is frightening to imagine how expensive colleges would be without the Pell program--and how few lower-income families would be able to obtain diplomas," Wellstone said as he introduced the bill.

 A much higher Pell Grant would open the door to college for more low-income students, according to Wellstone, Mitchem and others. Tax credits, they say, mainly would help middle- and upper-income families whose children already plan to attend college.

 "Any investment in education is good for the country," Mitchem said. "[However,] both tax plans are irrelevant for a low-income student." The tax credit plan that divides-educators actually consists of two elements--a $1,S00-a-year HOPE Scholarship to students who maintain at Least a "B" average, and a tax deduction of up to $10,000 to offset the cost of tuition. A family could choose between the scholarship or the credit, which would begin to phase out as the family's income reaches $75,000 annually.