Questions regarding new fees still linger over those in attendance at the Graduate and Professional Student Senate meeting on Monday, Sept. 30. 

James Dorsett, director of International Students and Scholars Office, addressed the senate regarding questions from a debate at a previous meeting.

Concerns regarding the fee include a detailed plan of how the money will be spent, why the fee is needed, what is wrong with the current orientation and how the committee can know the needs of international students.

The committee will be made of administrators, students and senators. The goal of the committee is to decide if the fee is the right support, amount and should go forward to the Board of Regents.

“I want to have students figure out if there is a need for this additional funding, and if so is this the right way to go about it,” Dorsett said, “as well as who should be subject to this fee.”

Dorsett said that if the fee would go forward, it will be provided to the different colleges to assist with programs for their international students as well as improve orientation for international students.

The idea behind the fee is to accommodate for the increase in international student enrollment, which is now more than 4,000 students. Dorsett said his staff is lacking in providing adequate attention to their students.

“What we want to do for next year is to have a full time programing position that would coordinate with colleges,” Dorsett said. “We are going to self-fund a programming position for the next two years; through salary savings and money, we haven’t spent in other areas and foundation funding.”

Both the universities of Iowa and Northern Iowa have an international student fee, of $120 and $100, respectively.

“[The fee is] to cover the food for international students, maybe pick them up from the airport, workshop seminars throughout the year and orientation,” said Sonali Diddi, GPSS professional advancement grants chairwoman.

The two co-leaders, Dorsett and Presha Kardile, director of student diversity for the Government of the Student Body, will meet this morning to begin the process of discussion on the committee through open forums, surveys and talking with students.

Orientation for teaching assistants is a topic of discussion. Anna Prisacari, president of the senate, said a teaching assistant orientation is already in place; however, it is not a requirement for all teaching assistants to take part.

Also, GPSS welcomed a room full of new senators to the September meeting. A new senators training is to be determined in a later meeting. 

Improvements to the Professional Advancement Grants are currently being discussed to make the process of applying for grants an easier and clearer process.

The next GPSS meeting will be 7 p.m. Oct. 28 in the South Ballroom of the Memorial Union.