Penn State will begin requesting proposals from independent childcare providers later this spring or summer for their service in a possible on-campus childcare facility, Penn State Vice President and Provost Rodney Erickson said yesterday.

"The university is not looking for an off-campus facility to send children to," Erickson said in an e-mail message. "We are exploring whether there is sufficient demand at this time for a West Campus childcare center that an outside provider can be attracted to operate at that site."

Although Linda Pierce, head of the childcare survey committee, declined to comment yesterday on a meeting Wednesday with members of the administration about contracting an independent childcare provider, Erickson was able to clear up some confusion surrounding the topic.

"The university will issue a request for proposals ... to a set of prospective providers who I'm certain will make independent assessments of the demand," Erickson said.

After Penn State announced plans to demolish a portion of Henderson Building South, which houses the Child Development Laboratory (CDL), talks regarding the construction of a new childcare center began when parents, most of whom are faculty, voiced their opposition.

In an e-mail message, Penn State President Graham Spanier said although the request for proposals will be made in the next few months, the decision to construct a new childcare facility will take much longer to make.

"The request for proposals would likely go out this summer, but no decision is likely to be made for at least many months," he said. "The current on-campus facilities will operate at their current level for about three years, so no changes are imminent."

Jeff Kokoskie, project manager for the Office of Physical Plant, said although demolition on Henderson Building South will begin next year, the construction will not affect the CDL for another three years.

Eric Plutzer, a political science professor and parent, said he is concerned about on-campus childcare falling into the hands of a corporate-run facility.

"Like many others, I would be concerned if management would be given to a large corporation, whose primary concern would be to maximize profits for its stockholders," he said.

Erickson said the childcare provider would have to meet high standards as well as provide competitive childcare rates to parents.

"The childcare facility and provider we will seek must be accredited to the highest national standards with a wide range of guarantees that high quality care will be provided," he said. "The costs to parents would have to be competitive with other providers in the area if the operator were to be successful."

Spanier said while the university is not looking for any specific childcare center, privately or corporate owned, the university's high standards will inevitably weed out some contenders. "When a request for proposals goes out it will undoubtedly be broadly cast to capture the interest of all possible providers," he said. "We will insist that the center be accredited at the highest level, which would eliminate all of those providers who can't operate at that level of quality care."

Anne Stokes, a member of Nittany Area Families for Children, stressed the importance of an on-campus facility.

"As a returning adult student, one of the biggest issues I faced was the constant juggling of going to class and traveling to pick up my child," she said.