Not surprisingly, Congress failed to take action by today’s deadline to prevent the scheduled doubling of interest rates on certain types of student loans.

Most observers believe that congressional compromise between Senate and House proposals could still provide some relief to students taking out new loans some time in July. But as important as the issue of student debt might be, the interest rate on new subsidized Stafford loans — whether it goes from the current 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent or is set somewhere in between — is only part of the problem.

There is no doubt that debt is a burden for many college graduates. Nationally, student debt recently topped $1 trillion, surpassing credit card debt. About 38 million people owe money on student loans. Some experts worry that this represents another financial bubble, considering the potential defaults, particularly in a difficult economy.

A recent study found that 70 percent of students graduating college this year will have school-related debt, with an average of $35,000. Ten years ago, 25 percent of college students had debt. Today, the figure is closer to 43 percent.

Student debt can be a challenge, especially to young people just starting careers. In many cases, debt from college is a monthly expense for decades.

Beyond the partially political debate over the interest rate on student loans, there should be a national discussion about how to reduce the financial burden on students attending U.S. colleges and universities. Even an agreement in Congress to keep Stafford loand interest rates low does not address the issue of why college costs are so high — and have increased faster than the rate of inflation for decades.

Forbes magazine reported that since 1985, overall inflation has increased prices by about 115 percent. In that same time period, however, the price of a college education has risen by 500 percent.

College students, and the parents who take on debt to help finance their children’s college education, should press for more than congressional action on interest rates on student loans. They should press for colleges and universities to reduce the cost of tuition.

Tuition costs over the past decade or so have risen much faster than the rate of inflation — even faster than the cost of health care, which has been the subject of national debate for years.

American colleges and universities have allowed administrative or bureaucratic expenses to increase by 60 percent from 1993 to 2007. In addition to hiring more and more administrators, colleges and universities seem to be involved in an arms race of sorts, building more luxurious dormitory suites, student unions and athletic facilities to help attract students.

There seems to be little concern at most college campuses over the rapidly rising tuition rates.

A freshman economics course helps explain why colleges have little effort to control their costs. It’s supply and demand. Most colleges receive many more applications than they can accept into each freshman class. Until applications drop off below the slots available for freshmen, and until college students and their parents vote with their feet and enroll in more less-costly universities, there is little motivation for cost control on campus.

Once Congress acts on the interest rate for Stafford loans, the conversation should shift to the larger issue of controlling costs at colleges and universities to make higher education more affordable, whether students take out subsidized loans or not.