Students’ printing quota may increase through a joint effort between the Student Association’s Academic Affairs Committee and Syracuse University’s Information Technology Services.

At the beginning of each academic year, students receive a $20 credit for printing services in the ITS public computer labs. After the credit is exhausted, students are charged for every page printed, according to SU’s website.

In the past, campus organizations and institutions have made alterations in the printing quota policy due to changing needs on campus. Recently, specific academic programs and colleges at SU have made the transition from free printing services to charging students 4 cents for every page printed, according to the website. Last year, SA members discussed the policy and the possibility of expanding the quota, but no changes have been made.

“We’ve found that one of the largest problems is that some classes are significantly more printing-intensive and drain students’ quota all on their own,” said Jenny Choi, chair of SA’s Academic Affairs Committee, in an email.

ITS has seen a small upward printing trend in the past few years, but overall, printing rates have remained steady, said Chris Sedore, vice president for information technology and chief information officer, in an email. He added that there isn’t a single system to measure the exact amount of printing done by students.

The small increase can be attributed to more professors emailing assignments or submitting documents via Blackboard, which students then print independently. Another factor is that in the last few years, printers have been defaulted to print on both sides of the page to save paper. But students are charged for both sides, Sedore said.

The SA committee is currently working on a system that will allow students to have enough printing opportunities so they don’t have to refill their quotas as frequently, Choi said.

One option, she said, is to assess which SU classes are printing-intensive, then allow students in those classes to print at a reduced rate.

While there are other ideas, most of the options being discussed might not be environmentally friendly. Choi added that the committee is reaching out to sustainability groups on campus for further input.

The Renee Crown University Honors program, which was one of the few areas on campus that still had free printing in the computer cluster in Bowne Hall, eliminated it in November.

The program cut free printing in the cluster because the rate of printing was too high to support, said Eric Holzwarth, the deputy director for the honors program.

He added that the computer cluster was printing thousands of sheets of paper each week, and was too expensive for the program. It was draining resources that were needed to run other aspects of the honors program.

“The students were very understanding,” Holzwarth said. “I don’t think it came as a shock for any of them.”

Choi, of SA, is optimistic that a solution benefitting students and the university will be reached.

“As defenders of students, we want to make sure that students are able to print out materials without having to refill their quota,” Choi said. “What we need now is for faculty and administration to work with us to make that happen. There’s always a lot of red tape, but I’m optimistic we can work towards a solution.”

Published on March 25, 2013 at 11:11 pm

Contact Meredith: mhnewman@syr.edu | @MerNewman93