Students were assured by the College of Sciences that they will be the ones least affected by the proposed budget cuts plaguing departments throughout the university.

The College of Sciences held a forum on Tuesday night to answer students’ questions about the department’s future.

Acting Dean Mary Anne Hanner, student dean Nick Owen and department faculty and board members fielded questions about the future of the department from budget cuts to the importance of teacher surveys.

When asked how budget cuts in the next couple of years will affect the students, Hanner said “students will be least affected with the cuts.”

The department will not cut programs but class sizes could be increased, Hanner said.

She said the cuts have to be made to pay back around $900,000 which was needed for an increase in teacher salaries, which were not equal to their colleagues, among other things.

Another question asked was how important were the teacher evaluations given to students. Hanner said “one of the first things that they look at for teacher promotions and retentions are the surveys. They also look at the size of the class that responds.”

All departments are not required to give surveys, but it is up to the department, Hanner said.

Questions have been brought to the department board by students about being on the Dean’s List. The university has a set standard of the top 10 percent of students make the Dean’s List, Hanner said.

It just happened to be that all of the students who were on the dean’s list had a 4.0 grade point average, she said.