In February, IRT published a student printing survey to gather feedback on the print management program. In response to students’ feedback, IRT plans to make two changes starting fall semester.

The first change is the one most requested – duplex printing. In public areas where there are at least two printers, IRT will designate one printer to default to duplex printing. Directions for manually selecting duplex printing will be posted in areas where there is only one printer to serve both single and duplex printing. In addition, IRT will provide a three-cent discount for the reverse-side page of duplex print jobs.

The second change is based on student feedback indicating that the amount of printing needed varies by semester and by class. Beginning this fall IRT will allow unused print balances to carry over from semester to semester up to a maximum balance of $120 (the equivalent of 1,200 black-and-white pages).

IRT believes that these two program changes will continue the original intent of discouraging paper waste on campus, while still providing students with enough resources to meet their academic needs.

Survey highlights:

• Of the 11,222 students who received the survey via email, 1,776 students (16 percent) completed 100 percent of the survey. Another 200 students completed parts of the survey.
• 69 percent of students said they use UST printers because they are in the area and 49 percent need a document printed fast.
• The average number of pages printed per week for academic purposes is 19.
• 59 percent of students print material when professors encourage the printing and 24 percent print class materials for their own convenience.
• 61 percent of juniors and seniors reported that the need for printing increased due to coursework, articles, class materials and papers.
• 57 percent of students reported that 400 pages or less were all that were needed per semester and 43 percent reported that more than 400 pages were needed.
• 72 percent never go over the 400 print quota, 6 percent go over every semester.
• 47 percent would choose duplex printing to use less paper, while 34 percent would print research on both sides, but print single pages for classes.
• 12 percent would use duplex printing if they could get more pages out of their allotment.

Out of 497 general comments students submitted, more than 100 mentioned duplex printing. Other comments included:

• Printing depends upon the semester course load.
• Printer availability is limited for color, at peak times and at other locations on campus.
• There is an increase in the number of articles, PowerPoint presentations and other materials that must be printed for classes.

To view the full summary click here.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the survey. IRT staff appreciate the time you set aside to provide feedback. Congratulations to the four winners of the $25 iTunes gift card: Ryan Bohl, Jalane Schramm, Beth Barrett and Susie Fergus.