ADD A FEE,
SAVE A TREE
by Leon Tovey for the Emerald July 30, 2002 Daily Emerald

Returning students will be in for a bit of a shock at campus computer labs this fall. In an effort to recoup costs and conserve paper, the Computing Center has decided to start charging for printing in its computer labs.

Currently, printing is free in the McKenzie, EMU, Klamath and Millrace labs, but according to Mary Bradley, lab coordinator for the Computing Center, beginning fall term students using the labs can expect to pay between 5 and 10 cents per page. Bradley said a final decision on the amount of the charge has not been reached yet, but that the days of free printing in the labs are over.

The two primary reasons for the decision are cost and waste, Bradley said. The Computing Center spent approximately $52,000 on paper and toner for the four labs in fiscal 2001-02, up from $18,000 in 1999-2000 and $26,000 in 2000-01.

But the bigger worry for conservation-minded officials was the amount of paper used in 2001-02: 467 boxes, at 5,000 sheets per box, for a grand total of 2,335,000 sheets.

"And we see it wasted," Bradley lamented. "Of course we would like to see printing remain free, but our feeling was that the only way to cap the printing was to charge."

Recycling Coordinator Robyn Hathcock echoed that sentiment. Hathcock, who is also a member of the University's Environmental Issues Committee, said the committee has been looking at ways to curb excessive paper use at the labs, but that it hadn't specifically advocated a price increase.

Hathcock said there was concern among some committee members that since printing costs are supposed to be covered by the education technology fee, students would balk at paying for printing at the labs. But the consensus was that the amount of paper being used and wasted in the labs warranted a response, she said.

An environmental audit conducted in 1999 by the University's Environmental Studies Program found that since students were not directly charged for printing in the Computing Center, they tended not to conserve paper. The audit suggested instituting a limit on the numbers of free printouts available to students and charging for successive printing in order to cut down on waste.

Such a system is a possibility; however, Bradley said it's more likely that the Computing Center will institute a simple per-copy fee in order to make printing more consistent across campus. The library charges 10 cents per page for printing, and Bradley said the Computing Center will charge the same amount, unless the library agrees to change its price to 5 cents per page.

When Oregon State University began charging in August of 2001, printing dropped by about two-thirds, according to Derek Rose, a senior consultant with OSU's Student Computing Facilities. Previously, printing in labs was free for students at OSU, but when the administration cut the printing budget, the facilities began charging 5 cents for black-and-white prints and 25 cents for color prints

E.I.C    UO Home    Facilities    Others    Sitemap    Contact Us   UO Printshop