PITTSBURGH -- Barring objections from the Division of Student Affairs, Penn State President Graham Spanier said he expects to establish the University Park Undergraduate Association (UPUA), in accordance with the student vote.

In response to questions from a Board of Trustees member at Friday's meeting, Spanier provided background on the prospective transition of student government. He explained the student body had expressed its opinion of the current Undergraduate Student Government (USG) and then voted on whether it supported UPUA through online referendums.

"That vote came in overwhelmingly," Spanier said of the first referendum, held last month, in which 85 percent of the 3,992 students who voted did not feel USG represented them effectively. UPUA received the support of about 60 percent of the 4,266 students who voted in the second referendum Feb. 28.

"The students have spoken," Spanier said to the trustees. "We want to make sure we assess the situation."

Spanier said he expects "to honor the student vote, unless there was some compelling reason not to that was brought forward by the Student Affairs staff."

Penn State students can expect a decision within the next month on which student government the university will officially recognize, Vice President for Student Affairs Vicky Triponey said in an interview. "Our students need to know the answer before they leave for summer," Triponey said.

George Henning, the board member who raised the question about UPUA, said he was curious about the university's process in deciding which student government to recognize. "I am anxious for the students to have the best representation they can have," Henning said after the meeting.

USG President and trustee Galen Foulke, a proponent of UPUA, was not present at Friday's meeting.

Trustees also asked Spanier about possible changes to university athletic drug-testing policy, citing recent controversy about professional athletes' use of performance-enhancing drug.

"Penn State really has one of the model programs in drug testing," Spanier said, telling trustees that the university employs a full-time sports nutritionist who works with athletes. "We have plenty of support services that allow our athletes to be where they need to be without drugs."

Tuition levels were also a topic of trustee concern. Spanier told them about several factors that would affect the final decision on 2006-07 tuition, which will come at the trustees' meeting in July. The first variable he cited was uncertainty about state appropriations to the university. Gov. Ed Rendell has proposed an appropriation of $322.4 million for the 2006-07 school year, but there have been several administrative and student efforts to lobby for more state funding since that proposal.

"We won't know for sure what the state component is until May or June," he said. "Once we get that number, we get the final numbers together for the July Board of Trustees meeting."

Spanier also said the cost of insurance, changing utility markets and faculty salaries would be considered before a decision was reached.