NIU’s Student Association and the Division of Information Technology (DoIT) recently administered a survey about printing on campus. Seven hundred and 70 students, faculty and staff completed the survey.
Some of the results might come as a surprise.
Students
What do students print most?
- Course assignments, lab reports, papers and projects
- Course readings, reference materials, syllabi, visual aids, etc.
Students said the greatest influence on reducing their printing would be a reduction in academic course printing requirements.
Faculty
Seventy-seven percent of faculty are interested in reducing printing on campus. Many have already reduced required printing for courses to zero:
- 55 percent require zero printing of course materials
- 29 percent require zero printing of assignments
Only 4 percent of faculty responded that they require more than 50 pages to be printed per course in a semester.
Staff
Staff were asked if electronic processing/workflow tools and electronic signatures could reduce the number of pages they printed per semester:
- 26 percent could print up to 50 fewer pages
- 12 percent could reduce their printing by 50 to 100 pages
- 12 percent could reduce their printing by 100 or more pages
Print Management Can Reduce Printing Costs
DoIT has begun planning a print management program. The goal is not to eliminate printing but to reduce printing costs while minimizing the impact to users.
There are 3,126 devices on campus that print and/or scan and/or fax, not counting 350 AnywherePrinters. Supplies and services for these devices cost approximately $1.7 million per year. The print management plan could save more than $700,000 annually while reducing NIU’s carbon footprint.
DoIT is currently running print management pilots in two divisions, and two more divisions have asked to be early adopters.
For more information, call the DoIT Service Desk at (815) 753-8100.
