"Advocates for state-sponsored college-savings plans are seeking to use the ongoing credit crunch as a wake-up call for parents and policy makers about what they see as the need to shift away from the growing rate of borrowing among families seeking to cover rising college costs," The Chronicle of Higher Education reports. "In the long run, savings are the best way for most families to avoid having to worry about the burdensome costs of private borrowing coupled with the uncertain availability of student loans, said Peter Mazareas, vice chairman of the College Savings Foundation, a nonprofit group that promotes so-called 529 plans, which are named for a section of the federal tax code that exempts their earnings and distributions from federal income taxes. The foundation is holding a first-ever forum in Washington today to trumpet the need for greater amounts of college savings and to propose policy changes meant to encourage more low- and middle-income families to participate in the plans, which already have seen enormous growth in recent years."