By STEVEN K. WAGNER

Charles Adams, '53, is a watchdog of sorts. He closely watches tuition costs at Whittier College, then periodically contacts administrators and trustees, urging them to hold the line on fees. It's a sensitive job for any alumnus, but Adams feels duty-bound.

"I'm concerned that the college is becoming unaffordable to the middle class," said Adams, a tax attorney and best-selling author who lives in Sedona, Ariz. "We have the rich, who can afford to pay full tuition. And we have the poor, who receive financial aid. Whittier College should be accessible to everyone. The middle class has a lot to offer society, too."

Anyone who has attendee college for more than a few semesters--or who has a son or daughter enrolled--is keenly aware of one thing: the price of higher education continues to rise. That is especially apparent at private colleges, where there are no substantial tax-based subsidies to mask the true cost of providing an education.

According to the College Board, which conducts an annual survey of college costs, tuition and fees at private four-year colleges and universities nationwide averaged more than $12,000 in 1995. Tuition at Whittier for the 1995-96 school year was $16,893--higher than the national average, but lower than that of nearby peer institutions, including Occidental College and the Claremont colleges.

Kristine Dillon, '73, who was elected last fall to the Whittier College Board of Trustees, is associate vice president for student affairs at the University of Southern California, where she teaches a freshman course titled "Higher Education: What's it Worth?" She and Adams have corresponded on the subject of college costs, and she admits that the answers to some of his questions aren't easy.

"There is little doubt that colleges and universities have taken on substantial costs of doing business since Mr. Adams attended Whittier," she said. "Some of these costs result from taking government funds. Federal research grants and financial aid may have many benefits, but compliance with federal reporting requirements contributes to rising overhead costs."

Public institutions also face these costs, Dillon noted, but taxpayer subsidies keep student fees artificially low. "When those subsidies are removed, the amount of money charged by University of California and California State University institutions to accomplish the education of students is actually higher than the posted price at private institutions in California."

Dillon defends private institutions against suggestions that high costs are a result of free spending. "Private higher education is not doing a worse job of managing its costs than public higher education," she said. "In fact, our administrative overhead is generally much leaner and our expenditures much more directly linked with the educational product than is the case in public higher education."

In its annual survey of college pricing, the College Board reported that in 1995, average tuition costs rose about 6 percent nationwide for the third consecutive year--more than twice the rate of inflation. The increase was due in large part to the federal government's reduction in support for student financial aid over the last decade.

The good news is that the 6-percent increase is well below the 8- and 9-percent average annual increases faced by students in private institutions during the late 1980s.

At Whittier, the Board of Trustees has increased tuition by 5.3 percent for 1996-97. Tuition was increased 4 percent in 1995-96 and 1994-95.

The past few years' increases "have mirrored the lowest in the college's history," said Harold Hewitt, vice president for business and finance.

Robert Zemsky, '62, director of the Institute for Research on Higher Education at the University of Pennsylvania, told the New York Times in January that things are looking up. "The price of higher education will be lower two years from now than it is now, and it's lower now than it was two years ago," Zemsky said.

Financial aid helps ease the burden for many students. At Whittier, nearly 80 percent of all students receive some form of financial aid. Nonetheless, concerns remain--especially among students who receive large amounts of aid in the form of student loans.

Juliette (Blye) Bleecker, '92, a gerontologist who lives in Garrison, NY, accumulated loan debts totaling $25,000 to $30,000 during her four years at Whittier. Her monthly payment is about $1,000.

Holly Lewis, a junior majoring in child development, is getting nervous about her accumulated loan debts, which total about $20,000. She says the extent of her indebtedness recently became real to her when she applied for a car loan.

"They ran a credit check and told me, 'No--you're $20,000 in debt,' " she said. "They said I was 'high-risk.' " Despite her difficulties, Lewis, who estimates it may take a decade to pay off the loans, is convinced she made the right choice. "I look at it as an investment," she said. "I'm investing in my future."

A heavy debt load affects more than a credit rating. College commencement is traditionally seen as a time of endless possibilities and wide-open options, but the prospect of hefty loan payments can considerably narrow a graduate's choices.

"One of the things that (financing a private education with loans) does is put you into a cycle of debt," said Bleecker. "You're beginning your adult life in debt. You then have to get a master's degree or a Ph.D. so that you can get a better job so that you can pay off your loans."

Nonetheless, Bleecker says the education she received at Whittier was worth the price. "I attended a state graduate school, and I was far better prepared than any of my (graduate school) classmates," she said. "Perhaps more than anything, I learned some good life skills at Whittier. I became a more well-rounded and better educated person."

Would she choose Whittier again, despite the cost? "I think I would," she said, noting that private colleges such as Whittier offer advantages over large public institutions.

"Your teachers know your name," she said. "You can have a close and personal relationship with your professors. Because of those relationships, you can tailor bits and pieces of your education to fit your interests. For instance, I persuaded a couple of professors to teach courses that weren't normally offered in the curriculum. That wouldn't have happened at another school."

One way that Whittier and other colleges help students meet the cost of their education is through "tuition discounting," in which a portion of tuition revenue is recycled into institutionally funded financial aid. That process ultimately reduces the net revenue that the college derives from tuition, so even a large tuition increase can end up having a relatively small effect on the bottom line.

The decision to raise tuition is always a difficult one, says Hewitt, and it was even more difficult this year because of the decision to invest an additional $1 million in academic programs. "During the planning process, we struggled for about two months with the issue of how high to take tuition," he said. "We decided that instead of increasing tuition aggressively, we would achieve a $1 million transfer into academic programs through cutting administrative programs. Therefore, the tuition increase for 1996-96 is only 5.3 percent.

"Whittier College is not heavily endowed," he added, "and therefore it depends upon tuition for about 80 percent of its operating revenue."

Charles Adams, meanwhile, is still keeping an eye on tuition costs. "When I attended Whittier, I was able to earn the tuition by common labor during the summer," he said. "Who could do that today, unless they robbed banks or sold drugs?

"I love Whittier College, and I'd hate to see it price itself out of the market for the common man," he continued. "I think it would take some revolutionary thinking to reverse the trend of ever-increasing tuition, but I think it can be done."

Dillon, who pledged as a trustee candidate to help keep Whittier accessible to everyone, agrees that money shouldn't stand between students and the benefits of a Whittier education. "I think private higher education still does a better job of introducing the integration of discipline-based subjects," she said. "Graduates of liberal arts colleges like Whittier have good skills and understand the value of community, something our world could truly put to good use."