STATE COLLEGE - Penn State trustees approved a new student fee on Friday to fund improvements for nonacademic space.

The student facilities fee will be phased in over the next two years. Students at the University Park campus will pay $50 per semester starting this fall, with the fee increasing to $100 per semester in 2009-10. Rates would vary at other Penn State campuses.

The fee would grow by no more than the increased rate of tuition in following years, said Gail Hurley, interim vice president for student affairs.

"Today's college students have come to expect a level of services and a range of facilities for their non-classroom experiences that we aren't currently able to provide," Hurley said in a statement. "The facilities fee will establish a permanent funding source to help ensure a well-rounded experience for our students."

Some students have griped about the new fee. Tuition for resident freshmen and sophomores at University Park is more than $12,000 per year, while it's nearly twice that for out-of-state students.

Penn State said its annual mandatory, non-tuition fees for students, totaling $560 this academic year, were low when compared in a survey to 17 "peer institutions," ranging from a low of $189 at Michigan to more than $2,600 at Illinois.

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