Panel says U.S. colleges need fixing

WASHINGTON, June 27 (UPI) -- A federal panel is calling for an overhaul of the U.S. higher education system.

The panel, appointed last year by U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings, said in a draft report that college costs have risen too high and "unacceptable numbers of college graduates" were entering the workforce without skills that employers say they need, The New York Times said.

The draft said "rising costs, combined with a confusing, inadequate financial aid system, leave some students struggling to pay for education that, paradoxically, is of uneven and at times dubious quality."

Charles Miller, former head of the University of Texas Board of Regents, is head of the 19-member commission. He told the newspaper the draft as a "work in progress" that was being released "to further engage the public in our national dialogue."