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New printing program gives BSU students quota
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BroncoPrint, a new system that gives all BSU students a printing quota, went live on Aug. 15, after almost two years of research and testing by the Office of Information Technology (OIT).
This is the first system of its kind at BSU, where printing has been free to students, faculty, staff, and the public.
Students that are registered for one or more credits will be given $15 worth of printing or 300 free pages for the semester. If the quota is exceeded, the student will be charged for further print jobs.
A committee of faculty, students, and staff was assembled over a year and a half ago to discuss the increasing costs of printing on campus, in large part due to “excessive printing by a small percentage of students,” said David O’Neill, executive director of OIT and the committee chairperson.
Stephen Henderson, manager of OIT computer labs, said that approximately 20,000 printed pages were wasted per week in one lab.
“The goal we’ve set out to is to contain costs for students,” O’Neill said. “We could’ve raised student fees to cover the increasing costs, but 80 plus percent of students wouldn’t have seen the impact of being able to print more.”
According to Henderson, the average student prints approximately 200 pages per semester, and he expects the BroncoPrint quota to meet the needs of 85 percent of students.
“The University of Idaho has a similar program, which as of 2004, gave students a 200 page quota,” Henderson said. “Our quota gave a 50 percent increase of University of Idaho’s.”
BroncoPrint has been installed in all computer labs at all of the Boise State campuses, including Campus West and Canyon County. Students must have their student ID card to use BroncoPrint. When “Print” is selected, BroncoPrint will ask for a student ID number and for the student to name the print job. They will be advised of the cost of the job.
The student ID card can be swiped at the lab’s Print Release Station, where only print jobs matching the student ID number will be displayed.
The screen displays the cost of the job and the projected remaining balance. The student must confirm, and the job is printed. The cost is charged, and the current remaining balance is displayed.
“You can choose where you want to route the job and release it when you get there,” O’Neill said. “There’s more security with this system.”
BroncoPrint was tested in Multi-Purpose lab 121 during the spring semester of 2005, beginning on March 26.
Although the test was meant to assess the new BroncoPrint software and did not give each student a quota, Henderson said that he saw a 30 to 50 percent reduction in printing.
“I noticed that the wasted paper has been cut down,” said Jesus Gonzales, a junior photography major. “My only concern is if and
when I exceed my quota.”
If the quota is exceeded, students can use an Add Value Station to transfer funds from their BroncoBucks account or insert currency.
At Albertsons Library, which is open to the public, users who are not students must purchase a card from a vending machine to print.
The burden of the quota on graduate students was addressed thoroughly by Henderson, O’Neill, and the committee.
“We found no evidence that the average graduate student prints more than the average undergraduate student,” Henderson said. “The impact on graduate students, based on our data, shouldn’t be very much.”
O’Neill said the new system will benefit graduate students.
“Graduate students often print large jobs that take a long time,” O’Neill said. “Now they can pick an appropriate time to print because they have control over releasing the print job.”
According to Henderson, the BroncoPrint system should yield better print quality with cleaner printing due to fewer print jobs. Students can also expect the wait time for printing to be significantly reduced.
OIT will begin testing BroncoPrint and color printing at BSU and Campus West by the end of September.
According to O’Neill, wireless access to BroncoPrint will also be available in the near future.
“We’ll continue to track usage, and after the first year, we’ll reexamine the quotas and see if they’re appropriate,” said Henderson. According to O’Neill, the main objective of BroncoPrint is to give students an incentive not to waste when they print.
“With the new system, what the people who print a lot do doesn’t affect everyone,” O’Neill said. “It’s more tailored to the individual student.”
How to use BroncoPrint
• Select Print, enter student ID number, and name your print job.
• The program will inform you of the cost of the job.
• Swipe student ID card at Print Release Station.
• The program displays the cost of the job again and the projected remaining balance.
• Confirm the print job.
• The cost is charged, and the current remaining balance is displayed.
ara Bahnson
Assistant News Editor