The Student Association’s $70,000 budget surplus will be used to fund the future growth of student organizations.

The surplus is the result of NIU miscalculations about the number of student credit hours, said SA President Huda Scheidelman.

Scheidelman said the overrun will cushion the money in next year’s SA budget, which she said is “very conservative. It’s not like we’re going on a spending spree.”

She said the money might create a number of new organizations and will enhance the funding of existing organizations.

“The amount of money we are allocated for our budget is based on predictions about how many credit hours students have,” Scheidelman said.

SA Treasurer Bruce Williams said a decrease in credit hours from the last academic year to this year caused the surplus of funds.

The number of credit hours should continue to diminish during the next two years, Williams said.

Nick Noe, NIU Department of Institutional Research director, said predictions about the number of credit hours are “reasonably accurate.”

However, Noe said, “the numbers need to be looked at in a conservative way.”

He said credit hour data is collected by his office staff. They submit the figures to NIU’s Office of Finance and Planning staff, who then make predictions about student growth, Noe said.

The figures are submitted to the Board of Regents and NIU President John La Tourette, Williams said. La Tourette and the board make allocation recommendations to University Programming and Activities.

Student activities fees increased 15 percent this academic year but the SA budget was made expecting only a 7.5 percent increase, Williams said.

He said the SA might use the money to enhance daily expenditures for trips taken by student organizations, but most of the expenditures will return to the budget for next year.

Scheidelman said next year’s budget is being scrutinized.