The computing labs throughout the campus have experienced a substantial increase in student printing, resulting in a dramatic rise of paper waste and additional costs in maintenance and equipment. On average, the university orders 73 cases of recycled paper a month. Each case costs approximately $30. In addition, each toner costs $106-$260, and each maintenance kit costs $358. In a collaborative effort with the Neumann Library and the School of Science and Computer Engineering lab (SCE), the UCT Academic Computing Labs (Delta and Bayou Labs) will establish a new quota system in place for the students.

Currently, 30 cases (150,000 sheets a week) of laser paper and 3-4 toner cartridges per week are used in the UCT Academic Labs. Many of these sheets (print jobs) are wasteful in nature, i.e. online manuals, multiple copies of PowerPoint presentations and Postscript Document Files (pdf's), and government and educational documents such as T.E.K.S. (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills).

Students do not pick up approximately 35% of these print jobs, which could approach 52,500 sheets of wasted paper per week for both labs. This translates to an increase of $1,260 a month in paper waste and $716 a month in maintenance kits for the printers in addition to the increase in toner cartridges.

This is an added cost in waste totaling $23,712 a year between the two Academic Labs alone that could be redirected to new computers and printers. Our desire is to inform the student body who is unaware of the costs involved in providing free laser printouts.

In an effort to reduce the costs associated with printer waste in the Neumann Library and redirect the cost savings to research databases (currently, there are 130 databases funded by a budget of $250,000 a year) for the student body. Martha Steele, associate director of public services, indicated to me "the library has been using a program that tracks printing by student ID number."

According to Mrs. Steele, "students are given a printing allotment of 500 sheets each per semester." If a student reaches this limit prior to the end of the semester, librarians at the Reference Desk can provide additional allotments of 100 sheets, beyond 600 sheets an appeal process is in place. Mrs. Steele stresses, "Printing of citations, articles and other research material is never limited." Lastly, the library offers a print-vending system for the public at 10 cents a page.

Although the SCE lab traffic is small compared to the Neumann Library and the UCT Academic Labs, a quota system has been in place for the past semester. Currently, David Webb, SCE tech specialist, has set a quota of 20 sheets per day for each student. This quota system has allowed Mr. Webb to reduce his staff costs and redirect the funds to the purchase of needed software.

With the collaborative efforts of the Neumann Library, the SCE lab, and the Academic Computing Labs in implementing quota systems for student printing, we hope the reductions in maintenance, staffing and paper costs can be redirected to additional equipment and services for the students.

A collaborative letter from Academic Computing Labs, Neumann Library and the School of Science and Computer Engineering.

Mark A. Adams, academic computing lab specialist
University Computing and Telecommunications
Phone: (281) 283-2957

Diane Yee, academic computing lab manager
University Computing and Telecommunications
Phone: (281) 283-2957

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