Topeka ? Higher education officials in Kansas are watching an emerging debate in Congress, and they don’t like some of the proposals being floated in Washington.

They worry that the federal government will become too involved in issues now left to the states, such as setting tuition rates at universities and colleges.

Board of Regents president Reggie Robinson briefed the board Thursday on proposals that would create a “college affordability index” and penalize public universities for large tuition increases.

“This is the introduction of price controls into higher education,” Robinson told the board. “It’s unprecedented.”

Rep. Howard McKeon, R-Calif., introduced the proposals last month as Congress began preliminary work on extending the 1965 Higher Education Act, which authorized grants for college and university programs.

McKeon has called rising tuition a crisis and said he wanted to keep higher education affordable. He also wants to ensure that students can transfer credits between institutions so that they don’t have to take duplicate courses.

Tuition increases at Kansas’ public universities this year ranged from 9.8 percent to 21.1 percent. At Kansas University, tuition for resident undergraduates rose 17.7 percent this year on the heels of a 25.2 percent increase a year earlier.

Generally, state officials have defended the increases as necessary because of scarce state funds.

McKeon’s proposals would bar institutions from accepting students who receive federal aid if they raised tuition by more than double the rate of inflation.

Board of Regents member Dick Bond, a former Kansas Senate president, said higher education officials should persuade the Kansas congressional delegation to oppose such proposals.

“I am concerned about micromanagement by the federal government of state institutions,” Bond said.

Robinson said it would make no sense to penalize universities by barring them from admitting students who received financial aid.

“Who does that punish? That punishes the student,” Robinson said.