Nearly halfway through the fall semester, Penn State administrators will continue running the university on tuition dollars while waiting for the state appropriation to come.

"As tuition has started to come in, we are using that part of our income to pay our bills," Penn State spokesman Bill Mahon said. "At some point during the year, that will run out and we will need the state appropriation to keep the doors open and pay salaries."

Mahon said the university has not heard anything from Harrisburg regarding the state appropriation to Penn State, but university officials have arranged for a line of credit at four banks if a loan becomes necessary.

"We hope not to [take out a loan] because it will cost money to borrow money," Mahon said. He declined to say when the university might run out of tuition money and would begin to use loans.

In July, the state House approved an appropriations bill cutting university funding by 5 percent, to $306.5 million. Penn State will not receive the appropriation until the bill is approved by two-thirds of the state Senate and signed by the governor, said Tom Starke, executive director of the Senate appropriations committee.

"The Democrats in the Senate said they are waiting for a solution to the whole budget before they provide votes for any of the non-preferred bills," he said.

Starke said the General Assembly is currently unwilling to raise taxes to pay for Gov. Ed Rendell's proposed education expansion programs, and the governor is insisting on having the programs funded.

"Both sides seem to have a bit of stubbornness to them," Starke said. "It's frustrating for the whole legislature. Until we come to some agreement and implement, if we do, some of the governor's programs, we are in a state of deadlock."

Richard Durst, the dean of the College of Arts and Architecture, said he is waiting in anticipation for the university's state appropriation to be determined.

"It's hard for us to make any plans for this year until we have a better sense of what the budget is going to be and what impact it might have on our budget for the whole year," Durst said.

Mike Lukens, the governor's spokesman, said he is optimistic about the progress being made in Harrisburg.

"We are getting some signals that folks are moving toward agreement," Lukens said. "We want things to wrap up as quickly as we can, but we want to make sure that the issues we feel strongly about are included in the final package."

In March, the governor used a line-item veto to strike the entire education subsidy for $4.1 million, proposing a plan that includes an economic stimulus package and education and property tax reform.

Lukens said the governor has made a number of program proposals, such as full-day kindergarten and tutoring programs.

He said the governor believes these programs should be implemented all over the state, while the General Assembly prefers more local control.

"Gov. Rendell has proposed an ambitious agenda, so it's taking some time to go through the details," Lukens said.