The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences will take the hardest blow in class section reductions this year with a net loss of 6,319 seats and a total loss of 230 courses, according to data provided by the Office of the Provost.

The loss of seats and reductions in course sections are due to budget reallocations needed to provide salary increases for ISU faculty, professional and scientific staff and merit personnel. Next fall, students will have less class sections to choose from and larger classes, according to ISU budget documents. This means that some required classes may not be readily available, or larger than in the past.

The College of Business will also suffer substantial losses, with 172 total course sections eliminated. However, due to increased class sizes, that college will actually gain 771 seats. At the other end of the scale, only five course sections were lost in the College of Agriculture, meaning 242 fewer seats.

The university’s original plan called for the reduction of 12,895 student seats in classes. However, some class sizes have been increased resulting in a net reduction of 8,869 seats. The reduction and increased size of class sections will continue at least through the spring 2005 semester.

June 16, the Board of Regents unanimously approved Iowa State’s 2005 budget with little discussion. A portion of that budget included the reallocation of $8.5 million in order to provide salary increases.

Although the 2005 fiscal year budget is larger than last year, the state Legislature again failed to provide money for salary increases for faculty and staff. This, along with rises in overall costs, necessitated an internal 2 percent cut across the college, as well as other money-saving measures. The largest portion of the university-wide 2 percent cuts — $6.5 million — will come from academic affairs, with another $322,000 from the president’s budget, $373,000 from student affairs, and $1.2 million from business and finance.

The reallocated money is expected to go directly into salary increases. Faculty, professional and scientific staff increases will cost $7.1 million and merit staff will get $1.4 million for raises. Faculty, professional and scientific staff raises are expected to increase between 2 and 2.5 percent.

The Board of Regents did, however, find funds to increase the salaries of its regent university presidents. ISU President Gregory Geoffroy’s salary will increase by 2 percent to $293,250.

The emphasis on raises marks a goal on Geoffroy’s part to create a competitive professional environment at the school, he said.

“Going forward we will, of course, keep [class sizes] as an important agenda item for the university,” Geoffroy said last week. “Ultimately, though, it requires resources to increase the number of faculty.”

Iowa State’s faculty salaries have, according to data from the provost, gained some ground in the past five years in comparison to its peer group. Iowa State’s peer group includes 10 other land-grant universities in the Midwest. However, in a ranking of the 11, Iowa State remains in last place.

Other colleges that are affected by the budget reallocations are: Design, with 44 eliminated course sections and a net loss of seats of 1,028; Education, with 30 class sections and 574 seats lost; Engineering, with 18 course sections and 363 seats lost; Family and Consumer Sciences, with 18 sections and 800 seats lost; and Veterinary Medicine, with 11 sections and 314 seats lost.