The Special Fees Committee of the Government of the Student Body recently hired Josh Foster to conduct tuition research in place of the United Students of Iowa.

USI, which was dissolved this past June, had two main functions — research and lobbying, said GSB President Dan Mangan.

“In the fall, they gather information concerning how much tuition will go up and the possible source of university waste,” he said. “In the spring, their job is mostly relations to the legislative body (the Iowa House and Senate).”

The group became zero-funded after the two other regent universities, the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa, failed to provide matching funds to support it. ISU offered USI more funds than any of the other universities, Mangan said.

ISU had given $37,500, or 75 cents per student in student fees, to USI. GSB is giving Foster $4,500, or roughly 37.5 cents in student fees, Mangan said.

Mangan said USI’s functions were important to students.

“There was no way of gathering information of any kind — no basis from which to decide whether decisions about tuition were unfair or not,” he said. Foster, a former USI member, has been conducting tuition research for the past two years.

“He is providing the exact same information as USI would have, even more,” Mangan said. “This action was taken by the Special Fees Committee for the benefit of the students. We felt we couldn’t have the students of Iowa State in a vulnerable position concerning tuition.”

Mangan said this is a small component of having a less bureaucratic administration.

“You don’t have a big government waste; it’s leaner, meaner and cheaper,” he said.