Student Government Approves Plan to Make Printing Easier, Cheaper

By Rebecca Butler

Reporting Texas

 

Responding to student frustrations about the cost of on-campus printing, the University of Texas’ Student Government voted Tuesday night to give students a $2 printing allowance each semester.

The pilot program, which will be implemented over the next few years, aims to change UT’s longstanding printing system that results in financial strain for some students. 

During the bill’s introduction, student and bill writer Dylan Avila said this pilot program is designed to give the administration time to figure out the realistic cost of free printing and the impact it will have on students. 

“Austin Community College gives students unlimited access to printing on their campus. Aggies get $30 each semester. We have to do better than that,” said Student Advocacy Policy Director Arshia Papari, who is responsible for taking action on student concerns.

Students at UT can print black-and-white one-sided jobs for 11 cents per page and color pages at 30 cents per side.

Although some student representatives said $2 per semester allowance was insufficient, the bill writers said the allotment will continue to be negotiated after it is passed. The pilot plan calls for the allowance to be increased steadily over a number of years.

The student initiative is expected to cost the university about $89,000 per semester from the existing UT Libraries budget. Negotiations on the bill have been supported by Chris Carter, libraries’ director of organizational effectiveness. 

Printing on campus can be an expensive and time-consuming endeavor. Some students prefer to have paper copies of class materials or are required to print their assignments. 

“Students paid $130,000 to print on campus last year and about $183,000 in previous years,” Papari said during the bill’s introduction. 

Papari noted that the number of students using UT’s printing services has declined. He said some students have sought alternative ways to print, such as buying their own printers. 

Another aim of the bill is to provide funding for improving the efficiency and functionality of UT’s printing services, including routine maintenance and basic upkeep like ensuring the paper and ink is full. 

Many universities in Texas provide money to students for printing on campus, including Texas A&M University, Texas State University, Texas Woman’s University and The University of Texas at San Antonio. 

Emily Landgren, a fourth-year mechanical engineering doctoral student, said she got $75 for printing each year at her undergraduate university in Pennsylvania. She said the process was made even easier by a one-stop-shop website, where students could upload documents from anywhere and send them to any printer on campus. 

“It is wild to me that printing here is not included in everyone’s tuition. I have never printed anything on campus because of that,” she said.

Another aim of the bill was to ensure that printing was equitable across all majors and studies. Currently, students in certain majors can print for free in their department offices. 

Around 2018, the Maseeh Department of Chemical, Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering announced their students would receive $40 in free printing credit each semester.

“I’m a senior, and I have thankfully never had to pay for printing because of the credit we get each semester,” said chemical engineering senior Victoria Tatman, noting that printing using the credit has been convenient because her classes and the printing center are in the same building. 

Avila said he hopes this bill will not only help students with printing for assignments, but also help with printing resumes, cover letters and flyers for their own initiatives. 

“Student success should not be determined by money,” said Avila.