COLUMBIA, S.C. - U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman unveiled a plan Monday to close the gaps in education spending that keep poor and minority children out of college or behind in the classroom.

The Connecticut senator made a presidential primary campaign stop at the historically black Benedict College and talked about his "College Opportunity" plan. He mentioned elements of that plan 18 months ago at a visit to neighboring Allen University before he declared his candidacy.

"My goal here is not just to make a college degree more affordable. It's to make a college degree more attainable" by making sure minority students stay and graduate, Lieberman said.

His plan has three key elements:

_ Increasing the $4,050 annual Pell Grant to $6,150 next year and to $7,760 by 2008.

_ Requiring colleges to report how many students complete a degree in six years and rewarding colleges that improve enrollment and graduation of low income and minority students.

_ Improving college readiness by, among other things, fully funding the national No Child Left Behind Act, which Lieberman said is underfunded by $6 billion.

Lieberman said increasing the Pell grant isn't "a giveaway, it's an investment in America's future and making the American dream real." At the same time, larger grants would cut student borrowing, he said.

"If it wasn't for Pell grants, I know I definitely would not be in college," said Benedict sophomore Keith Parker II, who supports the idea of increasing Pell grants. "There are a lot of us who need an opportunity to be able to go to college, but a lot of us don't because a lot of us can't afford it," Parker said.

Reporting graduation rates is a good idea, too, because "it holds them accountable for what actually goes on," Parker said.

Benedict College President David Swinton liked Lieberman's pitch for larger Pell grants, but urged caution on college report cards. The differences between each school and the students they draw need to be considered, he said. "No one-size fits all," he said.

Lieberman's proposal would require colleges to report six-year graduation rates by income and race. While about two-thirds of white students earn degrees within six years, less than half of black or Hispanic students do so. "Now, that's an unacceptable gap," Lieberman said.

Federal funds also would be used to reward colleges that show a significant increase in minority graduation rates, Lieberman said.

The senator also said his plan calls for at least 90 percent of all high school graduates in 2020 to enter the military or go to vocational school or college. Of those students going to college, the goal is to get a 90 percent graduation rate within six years.

"We can do that if we work together," Lieberman said. "In my opinion, this is really a pass-fail test for America and for the promise of equal opportunity," he said.

Other candidates also have offered higher education plans.

North Carolina Sen. John Edwards says he would provide one year of free tuition to public universities and community colleges to students who work 10 hours a week. And Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry wants to give parents a tax credit of 100 percent of the first $1,000 spent on tuition and 50 percent of the rest, up to $4,000 a year.