The University Faculty Senate yesterday approved mandatory diversity courses and a top University administrator said he hoped implementation would occur on schedule.

University Vice President and Provost William C. Richardson said he hoped the plan would be in effect by this summer but added that implementation is more likely to occur beginning in 1991.

Students will have to pass three credits of "diversity focused" courses or 12 credits of "diversity enhanced" courses to graduate. Associate degree students opting for enhanced courses would have to pass six credits.

Focused courses will concentrate on the study of "race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation and/or global perspectives."

Enhanced courses must devote at least 25 percent of their time to the study of these topics.

Recommended implementation dates are the summer of 1991 for bachelor's degree students and the summer of 1992 for associate degree students.

To fulfill the requirement students need not take additional credits. Instead, students may take approved courses in general education, their major or their minor.

Students can also fulfill the requirement through "experiential learning, including study abroad, specific and structured internships, Peace Corps experiences and their equivalents.

Before the legislation was passed, three non-senators recommended passage while another called for the senate to defeat it. The debate concentrated on the amendments with little focus on the main body of the legislation. Senators voted to close the debate with six or seven senators still waiting to speak.

Senators amended the original legislation from course requirements to credit requirements to allow for one or two-credit diversity courses.

In a 71 to 60 standing vote, senators defeated another amendment, which would have required nine credits of more heavily weighted enhanced courses.

Senators from the College of Engineering advocated this amendment because of the tightly controlled curriculum in their departments.

Senator Jovita Ross-Gordon proposed an additional amendment that would have added "language-minority and differently abled" to the list of perspectives. Senator Joseph Prewitt-Diaz said the term ethnic in the legislation would not include the Hispanic perspective, but should, because Spanish-speaking people come from different ethnic groups.

Not including handicapped people's perspectives in the legislation is in violation of the University's non-discrimination policy, Prewitt-Diaz said. The non-discrimination policy of the University protects handicapped, or "differently abled," people.

"I believe the vote today was exclusionary," Prewitt-Diaz said. "It sends a message to (handicapped and language-minority students) that Penn State is not really interested in them."

An estimate of $320,000 per year for at least the next five years will be needed for curricular revision, the development of new courses, library materials and additional faculty workloads, according to the senate committee on academic and physical planning. Committee estimates on specific implementation of the requirements ranged as high as $4.2 million.

Richardson said he thought the actual costs would be much less than the highest estimates.

The University has already allocated $200,000 in 1990-91 for the anticipated increase in faculty workloads, Richardson said.

Senators had varied reactions to the passage of the legislation.

Chairwoman Janet Atwood said she was "absolutely thrilled" the requirements passed. These classes, along with improvements in climate in and out of the classroom, will significantly decrease intolerance on campus in the long run, she said.

Behrend Campus Student Senator Ala Stanford said she was happy the legislation passed but concerned about the roundabout way senators opposed it.

"It's like they're not admitting it to themselves, but they don't really want to learn about other cultures," Stanford said.

The accepted proposal should have included language-minority and handicapped people's perspectives, she said.

But Senator Peter Rebane said that while he was happy diversity legislation passed, a more effective form should have been adopted. A three-credit "intolerance" class for freshmen would have been a better option, Rebane said.