I just wanted to make a comment about this UPrint system. I want to first state I am completely for “Going Green” and helping our environment, but I don’t fully agree with this system. Yes, other universities are doing this, and local universities are charging and not supplying credits, but those are also public schools.
Many of the students at those universities are receiving more aid for tuition, etc., whereas UM is quite expensive (and if you are an out-of-state student like myself, the financial aid you get is significantly less than if you are from Florida).
I just feel that with the constant raise in price of quite literally everything on this campus, adding one more expense is just unnecessary. And for professors to reduce printing would be helpful, many of my professors weren’t even aware though of the change until we (the students) told them, and many of them aren’t changing the printing amount.
While some of the professors have helped, I feel this also makes things more difficult. Many of my professors have a book for us, but have additional topics in the form of slides that total quite a lot of paper. I believe the statistic given, that 88% of the population don’t use the allotted printing, but for the other 12% of us that are required to have printouts, papers, and visible research it makes things difficult and those little expenses are going to add up. And that last 12% unfortunately are also probably the ones (cause I know I am) that have all of their books being at least $100 a piece, and numerous textbook needed per class.
I agree with going green, but I feel that this should be better evaluated. For instance, the database being used could be programmed to not charge for documents printed from the Blackboard link. That way the stuff for class can be obtained, and then the rest can go toward essays and whatever else might need to be printed out for classes. I just feel there will be many growing pains with this system, and that it should have been better thought out, and students should have had more of a say in this new implementation, because last time I checked I didn’t vote for this in student elections.
-Mariesa Coughanour