Executive Vice President and Provost Elizabeth Hoffman said ISU students will receive the $100 surcharge — implemented during the fall semester — back via U-bill by sometime next week.

The university is now looking at getting back $4.4 million of the $24 million that was expected to be cut, after the GSB Senate restored it during budget debates.

The university’s budget has been passed by the Iowa House and Senate, but has not yet been signed by Gov. Chet Culver.

Hoffman said that the university was expecting the governor to sign the bill today, but they decided to refund the surcharge anyway.

Hoffman said there is no reason that the governor shouldn’t sign the bill.

Jacob Wilson, off campus senator, asked Hoffman if the university had a rainy day fund that the surcharge money could go to, instead of the students being refunded.

Hoffman said that such a fund does exist, but it is something new. The fund is only two years old, and the Board of Regents is hesitant to put money into the fund because the money can be taken away, Hoffman said.

Hoffman also said that during the two years that the fund has been around, the university budget has dropped.

Hoffman said that the university lost $150 million in spending power in the past ten years, and the university is now looking at making efficient use of the funds that they have.

Hoffman said one program has been put on the chopping block by faculty. The removal of insect science has been voted on by the department of entomology, but hasn’t gone through to life sciences yet, Hoffman said.

The university is also looking at creating a single program in business logistics.

Hoffman said ISU President Geoffroy is currently in Korea seeking out a potential donor for the university.

Bevin Waters, Inter-Residence Hall Association senator, asked a question regarding a new program which would require students to enroll in an online alcohol education class, which ended up being directed to Dean of Students Dione Somerville.

Somerville said the program is being discussed, but if anything does happen with the class, it would only affect students who are entering into the university.

There is a free-pilot program that is available to the university, which is designed to educate students about high-risk behaviors before they have gotten too involved with events on campus, Somerville said.

The senate then seated the new liberal arts and sciences senator Karl Wacker, sophomore in pre-journalism and mass communication.

Halley Stille and Tor Finseth were both nominated to be Speaker of the Senate.

Stille is formerly the director of student affairs, and Finseth has been representing the Inter-Fraternity Council.

Stille was voted in as the Speaker of the Senate.

Waters and Michael Weber were both nominated for the vice speaker position.

Weber, who served as speaker during the 2009 – 2010 year, was appointed as the vice speaker.

Keep checking this story online for updates.