Every semester, a college and/or university student is allowed to print up to 400 pages of paper (in monochrome) for free. Go beyond the maximum pages and fees are charged. This privilege is deemed beneficial to students since it significantly reduces expenses. Yet, only a few can avail. Procuring a printed copy of files and reports using the campus facilities can be frustrating. Limited number of computers and printers lead to long queues. This scenario wards off students who choose to print outside the campus premises.
Columbia University Information Technology (CUIT) Student Advisory Committee therefore addresses this problem by introducing a global printing queue as a resolution. Formed last November, the committee met up with CUIT to discuss and acknowledge the campus printing problem that has long been criticized by the students. The advisory committee, together with the Vice President of Student Services of Columbia College Student Council, CC15 and Loxy Bennet, has included the global printing queue in their goals for the upcoming school year.
Apart from improving the global printing queue project, the committee also seeks to increase the number of printers across the campus and Courseworks app. This action will help develop the school sites that students are currently able to access through their mobile gadgets.
I think they’re still refining the scope of that app, but the most likely area is to provide mobile access to announcements and emails, said Candy Fleming, vice president of CUIT.
The mobile website just shows every course you’ve ever taken, and it’s just so clunky, added Bennet.
The project is meant to reduce the students frustration in printing and make it more convenient by allowing a document sent from their computer to the campus printers. The document will be in the queue for 3 hours.
This new printing system will also allow individual use. The students will only have to log in using their UNIs and passwords, and then select the documents to be printed from their own individual queues. This eliminates the need to wait from the long lists of documents in the printer pool. Moreover, the students can print from any printer around the campus.
I think that’s immensely helpful, especially if we’re having a system where every document is going everywhere, quoted Bennet. Because otherwise you have to scroll through hundreds and hundreds of documents.
CUIT is hopeful that they can push through the committee plans this semester.
