Students who dread waiting in long lines to purchase a fitness pass can relax. In the fall, fitness memberships will be activated online through students' ID+ cards.

"It will be a tremendous convenience to students," Dale Roth, director of recreation services and club sports, said.

Students will be able to log online and obtain membership within seconds, and their student bursar accounts for the semester will be charged accordingly. When students enter fitness areas, their ID cards will be swiped, notifying the staff member of payment status.

The passes give students access to several campus facilities and fitness classes.

The system will be in great contrast to the long, snaking lines that students previously faced at the beginning of each semester. Roth said this was the main concern about the current system.

"We had lines of hundreds waiting," he said.

Jill Garrigan, fitness coordinator, said it is too cumbersome for students to stand in long lines to purchase passes.

"This will make it a whole lot easier," Garrigan said.

In addition to alleviating the wait for purchasing passes, the new system eliminates the need for students to fill out forms, Roth said.

Students on their way to the White Building gym yesterday were receptive to the plan.

Melissa Covey (sophomore-elementary education) said it was a hassle to sign the forms at the beginning of the semester.

She said she waited for about 45 minutes to obtain her fitness pass in January.

While paper passes will no longer be used, ID cards will still be taken at the door and secured on the large boards currently used to hold them.

Roth said this will be done to maintain capacity count in the fitness areas. He estimated the White Building gym capacity at 200.

Roth said 14,000 students purchased fitness passes this semester.

Roth said students will also be able to purchase a pass for not just one semester, but for both fall and spring semesters online, if they wish.

Once the system is activated, there will be a link to the Web site (fitnessmembership.psu.edu) on eLion (www.elion.psu.edu).

"I think it will be an enormous service," Roth said.

Roth said there will be a price increase for fitness passes in the fall. However, he could not confirm how much the price would rise from the current fee of $20 per semester.