The University is considering a pay-per-page system, five cents per page, for students using printers in campus computer labs. This is a small amount to pay and most students would pay less than $10 during a semester Sherry Rodrigue, assistant director for academic computing, said.
“The administration is looking at a chargeback system for students,” Rodrigue said.
According to Rodrigue, the average student who prints on campus would pay $8.85 on average each semester.
“It would be pay as you go,” Associate Provost Larry Howell said. “If you go to print, it tells you how much it is going to cost, and you can pay it with your Colonel Card.”
Student use of University printers is currently being funded through the Instructional Technology Fee. According to Rodrigue, the University allows students to print 1,200 sheets per semester through the Instructional Technology Fee. Most of the students who print on campus print less than 200 pages per semester, Rodrigue said.
The printing charge is being considered so the University can use the money that would be saved from printing to fund other technology projects on campus such as updating existing computer labs in the academic departments.
The committee that oversees the budget for the Instructional Technology Fee has set aside $60,000 for costs associated with printing which include paper, toner and maintenance of the printers.
“We spend close to $50,000 a year on paper, toner and printers,” Howell said. “It would free up that money to be spent on other technology projects.”
According to Howell, the University currently funds about one-third of the requests it receives from academic departments on campus. The requests are for the purchase of new technology for faculty to use in their courses.
The University would be able to pay for the paper, toner and maintenance of the printers as well as higher quality printers by charging students for printing.
“With a chargeback system, we could provide a lot more,” Rodrigue said. “Put better printers in,” Rodrigue said, adding that the color printers are broken right now.
Howell said the University administration believes the chargeback system will cut down on the amount of wasted paper.
The system could go into effect as early as spring 2008.
