As the extent of Hurricane Katrina’s human and economic toll became increasingly apparent last week, University administrators acted to address the storm’s effects on the Gulf Coast and students at universities in the region.

Harvard announced Friday that a limited number of students enrolled at universities and colleges shut down in the wake of Hurricane Katrina would be admitted to study in Cambridge this fall.

The University collectively plans to take in at least 125 displaced students, although that number is likely to grow in the coming days, as several of Harvard’s schools have not yet determined the precise number of students they will accommodate.

Harvard will provide some on-campus housing and will waive tuition costs for students who have already paid tuition to colleges and universities in affected regions. The University will also match donations of up to $100 made by students, staff, and faculty to any of eight specific charitable relief organizations such as the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund and the Bush-Clinton Relief Fund.

Harvard’s announcement came a day after many Boston-area schools—among them Tufts University and Boston University—promised educational sanctuary for students from affected schools, including Tulane University in New Orleans.

Dean of the Faculty William C. Kirby said that Harvard began to plan its relief efforts at the same time as its peer institutions.

“By the middle of last week we were already in discussions as to how we might help,” Kirby wrote in an e-mail.

University spokesman John Longbrake said that students taken in by the College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences would most likely not be housed in occupied student housing, but in vacancies across campus.

“On-campus housing will be provided on a space-available basis and priority will be given to students rendered homeless by the storm,” Kirby wrote in a letter to students and staff Sept. 2.

Kirby told The Crimson Saturday that students are being admitted on a “rolling” basis and that some have already been notified of Harvard’s decisions. In addition, the admissions office has stated that it will grant high school students from Katrina-affected areas additional time to complete early applications if necessary.

During his remarks at yesterday’s Opening Exercises, Kirby said that some students had already arrived on campus and that more were on the way.

“It is our very strong hope that all will be here for the first day of classes,” Kirby said, adding that the displaced students are also under pressure to respond to offers from other schools, many of which have already started classes.

Kirby said that FAS is applying the criteria used in its Visiting Undergraduate Program but noted that some information will have to be verified at a later date.

“We have had over 250 inquiries...and the Admissions Office is responding to every one of them,” he wrote in an e-mail Saturday. “We are of course acting now with great speed to do all we can to help these students whose lives and programs have been so severely affected by the storm and its aftermath.”

Kirby also commended the faculty, staff, and students who have offered housing to displaced students.