As many as 50 undergraduate students displaced by Hurricane Katrina will begin classes at Penn State campus locations during the next few days.

Lynn DuBois, associate director of housing, said there are 10 students from closed schools, including Tulane University in New Orleans, who have either enrolled at the University Park campus already or are expected to enroll in the next few days.

"They will be here for the entire semester," she said. "They can transfer back to their home school at the end of fall semester or even at the end of spring semester."

DuBois said the students will be placed in supplemental housing for the time being.

"These students will be added to the waiting list for regular housing, so they could wind up in a regular room just like any other student before the semester is over," she said.

While at Penn State, the students will pay regular out-of-state tuition and room and board, DuBois said.

Penn State spokesman Bill Mahon said students are being enrolled at both Penn State's main campus and commonwealth campus locations.

"In addition to undergraduates, some graduate students are also enrolling at various campuses," he said. "Dickinson School of Law is also trying to make arrangements to accept law students."

Kelly Jones, spokeswoman for Dickinson School of Law, said about a dozen students from southern law schools have made requests to enroll at Dickinson.

"Right now, we are extending admission to students from Tulane Law School and Loyola-New Orleans Law School," she said.

Mahon said the university might have to be flexible with the deadline for fall semester enrollment, which is Sept. 9.

"We're trying to get everyone in by the end of the drop/add period because after that point, they're going to be missing too much class work," he said.

Mahon said the university is expediting the application process for students who had never previously applied to Penn State.

"We're trying to get their high school records faxed so we can get them in here in a day or two," he said.

He added that there are faculty members at the university exploring ways to help their colleagues at southern universities. This could include recruiting faculty members from affected areas and giving them an office or a lab for research, but no official decision has been made.

Vicky Triponey, vice president for student affairs, said the university is also trying to assist students who are part of an exchange program between Penn State's College of Education and Xavier University in New Orleans.

"These students are studying at Penn State as part of a partnership between the two schools, but their families still live in New Orleans," she said.

She added that several of the students' family members are planning to live in State College until they can go back to New Orleans.

"Housing for these families is something the university has been working on," Triponey said.

The students from Xavier University will be present at an 11 a.m. today press conference, held by the office of student affairs, at the Hintz Family Alumni Center.