The Nicholls Worth

Issue date: 10/25/07 Section: Editorial

The University's consideration of charging students five cents per page to print in the computer labs is inconvenient for all students who print on campus, and it is unfair to students who must print more than the average amount.

The student-assessed Instructional Technology Fee funds printing in the computer labs and students are allowed to print 1,200 pages a semester. Students enjoy the convenience of being able to print the materials for their classes at one of the various computer labs across campus. Making a student pay five cents for each page printed is a hassle for the student; not having the correct change or not having money in one's Colonel Card account would be problematic.

Although students who print on campus generally print less than 200 pages per semester, this is only an average, according to Sherry Rodrigue, assistant director of academic computing. Some students have to print much more than that, depending on the courses they are taking. The average student would pay less than $10 each semester for printing, but other students might have to pay $40 or more each semester. Students taking courses that require more printing or who do not have access to printing at their homes should not be penalized financially.

Students pay an abundance of fees each semester, and many times the students are unaware of where the money goes or, in the case of the recreation center, will never benefit from the fees they pay. However, as long as the technology fee funds printing in the computer labs, students can see a direct benefit from one of the fees they pay.

The technology fee is $5 per credit hour each semester, (the fee caps at 12 hours), which totals to $60 a semester for full-time students. Printing in the computer labs accounts for $60,000 of the $800,000 instructional technology budget for this year.

If the University adopted the pay-per-page system, the money collected would fund the printing services in the computer labs, and the money collected from the self-assessed fee would go towards technology upgrades.

However, Rodrigue said for the last two years the University went over its instructional technology budget. She also said the budget was only $15,000 a few years ago. The increase in printing costs came at the same time the University began using Blackboard, she said, which allows teachers to post materials online and have the students print them.

Instead of charging students five cents per page for printing, the student-assessed fee should be raised to compensate for the increased printing. The fee would only have to be raised by $10 a semester, which is the average amount a student would spend on printing if paying five cents per page, anyway.

Students may feel hesitant to vote on an increase in fees, but they should look at the big picture. It will be less irritating than paying per printed page, and the extra funds would be used for upgrading technology on campus - something everyone can benefit from, even students who don't print on campus.

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