Print: Utilizing technology to transfer information from a computer to hard copy.
Wise: Smart, intellectual, able to make sound decisions with positive results, beneficial — socially, economically and financially.
The university recently announced all full-time students will receive an additional $7 on their PrintWise accounts starting next fall. Within the past year, The Marquette Tribune editorial board has called upon the university on more then one occasion to make budget increases for this purpose. However, we're sorry to inform some students that the deal might not be so great for them.
Some university departments only provide electronic notes for students, rather than hard copies in class, passing the burden of printing to students, forcing them to print out even more paperwork than before. Last fall, Students enrolled in biomedical science courses had no way to obtain hard copies of notes for class other than through printers.
The typical biomedical science class that meets three times a week must print five to 10 pages per class period. A student enrolled in four classes would have to print 60 to 120 pages per week. Let's do the math. There are sixteen weeks in a semester. At 7 cents per copy, a student taking four biomedical classes will end up with a grand printing total ranging between $67.20 and $134.40 at the end of the semester. And don't forget that most classes also require purchasing an expensive textbook.
Assistant Dean of Health Sciences Jane Mundt said while there are no policies in the College of Health Sciences requiring students to print their notes, faculty members who only provide electronic notes are following down the same path the university did when it decided to create an all-electronic schedule of classes. This is a fair point but it does not alleviate printing costs for students. We pointed it out in our Sept. 13, 2005 editorial.
Many professors are now putting more material on electronic reserve and Desire2Learn, or D2L, which students are required to print out or read on the computer screen. For many students in several majors, increased printing requirements is becoming a financial strain.
Perhaps a better solution for this printing cost is to allocate PrintWise money according to the college a student is enrolled in, along with taking their year and major into consideration. For example, students enrolled in the College of Communication are not typically required to print out very much. In such cases, $21 may be far too much money.
Students are inundated with many financial burdens, including tuition, books, food and rent. With this in mind, the last thing we want is to pay for class notes. The time inconvenience of printing notes along with the financial requirement, whether on personal printers or through the university, proves the policy is inadequate in serving all students' needs.
We appreciate the university's effort and willingness to allocate an extra $7 of PrintWise money on a student's card. However, we believe the university should take into consideration what that money would mean on a student-to-student basis. Until you do, many students will have the same old problem when it comes to printing costs.