Penn State is reporting a 12 percent increase in undergraduate applications from this time last year, but Penn State president Graham Spanier said the university's goal is to stay at the "enrollment ceiling" of about 42,000 students.

"This is a good sign that application levels will remain at a high level," Penn State President Graham Spanier said at yesterday's University Faculty Senate meeting. "Now, we have to figure out how to deal with this unexpected success."

Last year, Penn State accepted the largest freshman class in history, last reported at 8,302 students. However, the administration will monitor the number of students coming to Penn State next year.

For next year, Penn State will attempt to keep about 42,000 students at University Park and admit about 7,000 freshmen, Spanier said.

"We can't afford an extra 1,000 students on campus again," he said. "We're near the enrollment ceiling now, and our goal is to stay at that level."

Over the past few years, the university has seen a consistent increase in applications. Last year, the university closed with about 94,000 applications, one of the highest numbers of applications in the country, said Bill Mahon, a university spokesman.

"It speaks to the high quality of our academic programs," he said. "People go to college for a lot of reasons, but academics remains the main concern. This is a school where people can gain a unique education, and people across the nation know that."

The university's physical condition also attracts applicants, Mahon said.

"People see the quality of campus buildings and research facilities and are more inclined to come here," he said. "They're attracted to nicer places to study and to live."

Currently, the university is sending acceptance notices to the top tier of applicants and rejections to the least qualified applicants. However, the university will take longer to respond to applicants in the middle of the spectrum, Spanier said.

In his opening remarks, Spanier also addressed concerns about Webmail junk mail filters and changes to first-year seminars at yesterday's Faculty Senate meeting.

Recently, Spanier said he became aware of senate committee discussion on changing first-year seminars and urged the senate to not act too quickly.

"A lot is at stake here," he said. "It's a worthy discussion, but I urge you to use caution and not rush into a decision."

The senate committee wants to change the focus of the seminars' goals or remove the mandatory requirement.

A faculty member also raised concerns about junk mail not being filtered by Webmail. Spanier said the university e-mail system contains three effective filters.

"I don't get any spam," he said. "In the last three weeks, I noticed some spam senders have gotten smarter, and we just need to keep the systems updated."

The senate also heard a report on recent changes in student government. The senate committee on committees and rules proposed a constitutional amendment to change Faculty Senate student representation from the Undergraduate Student Government to the University Park Undergraduate Association.

Because the amendment deals with the Faculty Senate's constitution, it must be tabled and brought to the floor for a vote at the Jan. 30 meeting, said Joanna Floros, chairwoman of the Faculty Senate.