The Print Sustainability Program began last semester in an effort to decrease the amount of paper wasted on campus.
Students were credited $30 to their printing accounts in order to help pay the new fees: ten cents for black and white sheets and 25 cents for color.
Computer lab coordinator Jennifer Tanacs says the program “has been very successful, thanks to the UT student body.”
Previously, the University of Tampa experienced problems with students printing unnecessary papers in excessive amounts.
Often, students would print just to print, and leave unwanted sheets in the printers for the lab assistants to clean up.
The Print Sustainability Program was designed to make students aware of their printing habits.
Many professors contributed to the program’s success by requiring their students to use online sites like Blackboard and Turnitin.com to submit their work, limiting printing to the bare minimum.
“Printing in the computer labs was reduced by more than 60% in the Fall 2010 semester compared to the Spring 2010 semester. That’s the equivalent of 83 trees,” said Tanacs.
The reduction in paper usage proved to be a good way for UT to decrease its ecological footprint.
For students who still have to print often for classes, Tanacs suggests that they “print double-sided; combine multiple power point slides to one sheet.”
At the beginning of last Fall, there was concern that the $30 allotted per semester would not be enough and would force students to spend extra money to print for class.
“The $30 credit in the fall appeared to be enough for the majority of the students. Only about 67 students purchased paper [in addition to their credit] in the fall semester,” said Tanacs.
Because of last semester’s success, UT plans to continue the Print Sustainability Program.
“We all hope to create awareness and continue to reduce waste in the labs,” said Tanacs.
Trinity B. Morgan can be reached at tmorgan@spartans.ut.edu.