Class sizes are steadily increasing at the UI, but faculty members say there’s no need to worry — yet.

The heavy budget cuts from last year led administration to leave some positions unfilled, including faculty, staff, and teaching assistants, President Sally Mason said.

The university took that action so it could avoid having to lay off anyone, she told The Daily Iowan last week.

On average, smaller section classes can expect an additional one to two students while larger lectures will likely have an increase of up to 20 students.

“I don’t think [students] will notice much of a change,” Mason said.

UI Associate Provost Beth Ingram said the university is experiencing normal fluctuations.

“I don’t have any sense, anecdotally, that class sizes have increased significantly,” she said.

Though classes only grew slightly, the new numbers could put certain schools’ accreditations in jeopardy. Class sizes are a factor in accreditation by some outside associations, Ingram said.

Faculty still show concerns about the quality of their classes, even though numbers have remained relatively steady.

Helena Dettmer, an associate dean for the College of Liberal Arts, said she is mostly concerned classes could expand too much in the future.

“The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is doing its best to maintain high quality,” she said. “We like to think we can react to any adversity.”

This year, the UI planned on having fewer first-year undergraduates because last year’s class size was a record. As a result, a smaller number of sections were offered during registration this summer.

However, Dettmer noted, some sections were set as pending and were only opened up when needed.

“It depends on the department to let us know if additional resources are needed,” she said. “If a department is having an issue, it should let the college know. If we need additional money, then we talk to the provost.”

The number of students in the College of Engineering increased by 4 percent over last year. The jump is nothing new — the school has experienced a growth spurt in recent years, said Alec Scranton, an associate dean of the college.

“The school is having healthy growth,” he said. “It’s good to be increasing in size. Engineering is an important discipline.”

Though the increase of students was expected, Scranton plans for additional budget cuts in the future.

“We plan for budget cuts in consolidation with faculty and departments,” he said. “It’s an ongoing process. We can’t predict what’s going to happen in the future.”