POLICY ON STUDENT PRINTING

for THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY AT LIMA

July 2006

 

Background Summary:

 

            In the past it has been de facto policy on the campus of The Ohio State University at Lima that our students can receive free printing services in computer labs (in Galvin Hall and the Science Building), the University Library, and in the Heath Learning Center.  Anecdotal observations about waste and excessive cost resulted in the creation of an ad hoc committee in August 2005.  Dean John Snyder appointed Jessica Geiger-Hayes, Maria Ignatieva, Jim Kerr, Roger Nimps (chair), Jeannette Passmore, Kathy Stedke, and Beth Sutton-Ramspeck to this Student Printing Committee, with the objective of formulating a policy to guide the availability and cost of student printing on the Ohio State Lima campus.

 

            The Student Printing Committee first met in August 2005, and discussed a variety of issues related to student printing on campus, including matters of cost (for both the university and students), concerns about waste and inefficiencies, and our need to ensure that students could fulfill course requirements, even in classes that required large-scale printing.  The committee also investigated student printing policies on other Ohio State campuses, at nearby institutions of higher learning, and at Rhodes State, discovering that while there is no uniformity amongst the various campuses, typically students incurred charges for on-campus printing.

 

            The consensus conclusion, however, was that the committee needed more information before any formal policy could be developed.  What followed was an information-gathering campaign conducted by the Office of Technology Services (OTS) over the Autumn 2005 and Winter 2006 academic quarters.  The following policy is the Student Printing Committee’s response to the initial concerns presented in August 2005, as further defined by the results of the information-gathering campaign, and was approved as policy in July, 2006.

 

Printing Policy:

 

1.  Student printing facilities will remain free to Ohio State Lima students:

 

            A.  Printing sites include:

                        Galvin 340                    (Public Lab)

                        Galvin 336                    (Public Lab)

                        Galvin 310C                 (Heath Learning Center)

                        Galvin 451                    (Computer Classroom)

                        Galvin 305                    (Computer Classroom)

                        Science 110                 (Geology Museum)

                        Science 360                 (classroom)

                        Science 370                 (classroom)

                        Science 380                 (classroom)

                        Chemistry Lab             (Science Building)

                        Psychology Lab            (Galvin Hall)

B.     Printing availability will be limited in those sites also used as classrooms.

 

C.     Printing is to be limited to academic and other school-related tasks.

 

2.  Single printing jobs will be limited to 100 pages.  Students may request an exception to this limitation by contacting OTS.  An instructor’s note, explaining that course requirements necessitate a large printing job, would be a good example of a legitimate exception.

 

3.  OTS will continue to monitor student printing on a quarterly basis.

 

4.  OTS will create web pages devoted to student printing statistics, both delineating overall usage and making their own individual printing figures available to students.  These pages will also contain information on where to find printing facilities, how-to-print guidelines, and suggested conservation techniques.

 

5.  At the end of each quarter, OTS will e-mail Ohio State Lima students, notifying them that updated statistics are available on the pertinent web pages.

 

6.  When any student prints over 500 pages in a single quarter they will be contacted by OTS, via e-mail, with a discreet and diplomatic request for an explanation.  Using latitudinarian measures, OTS will then assess whether or not the student may continue to have access to free printing that quarter.

 

7.  Student Activities, in consultation with OTS, will lead a student printing awareness campaign for our students, elucidating university policy, the information that is available through OTS recordkeeping, and conservation techniques and programs.  This awareness campaign should begin immediately upon formal approval of this policy.

 

8.  Ohio State Lima students who use the University Library printing facilities will follow the same policy used at other Ohio State Lima printing venues.  Therefore, Ohio State Lima Library facilities will have to be configured so that printing can be tracked by institution.  Rhodes State students who need to print over 100 pages in a single job will need to contact library personnel at the front desk for an exception.

 

9.  OTS will conduct annual reviews of the university printing policy, seeking input from students and faculty.  Any glitches, problems, or suggested changes, should then be brought to the attention of the Dean’s Office.