Penn State Career Services is getting promoted to new offices.

From separate smaller work spaces in Boucke and McAllister Buildings, the division of student affairs focused on job placement and counseling will move to a dedicated site sometime late next year.

Last week at its meeting in Hershey Medical Center, the Penn State Board of Trustees gave the go-ahead to preliminary sketches for the new MBNA Career Services Building.

The three-story, 44,000-square-foot structure will be built on Bigler Road across the street from the outdoor swimming pool and adjacent to the Computer Building.

Gary Schultz, senior vice president for finance and business and board treasurer, said locating all the services in one place would improve the efficiency of the division and improve the visibility of the programs for visiting employers.

Members of Career Services staff often complain that not enough students even know where their offices are situated.

Career Services will occupy the first two floors of the new building, but the third floor will house the Morgan Academic Support Center for Student Athletes, whose offices are also currently located on the third floor of Boucke.

Architects for the project are from Weber Murphy Fox of Pittsburgh and State College, the same firm designing new graduate student housing for about 300 people in West Campus.

MBNA America Bank, which in recent years has donated about $10 million for various projects, is one of the world's largest credit card companies and often seeks to recruit Penn State students. The company's name was also attached to the new student fitness center in the White Building.

Construction on the MBNA Career Services Building is slated to begin in July.