When an MCCC student prints a document on campus computers, a dialog box appears stating they will be charged $0.00 fee.
The dialog box can be ignored for now, but it signals the college plans to eventually charge students for printing.
Thousands of pages per day are printed by students. With the economy in the shape it is in, college officials are questioning whether they can afford to let students print for free.
Dan Schwab, MCCC’s Business Manager and Treasurer, said he wasn’t able to provide information on the amount currently spent by the college on student printing.
“These types of expenses are included in the supply accounts for each department responsible for the printing in their area. We do not have totals for just printing expenses,” Schwab said.
Brian Lay, Manager of Information Systems at MCCC, said some students print out many pages at a time and throw away the majority of them.
He said no final decision has been made so far on the proposed print-and-pay system.
Lay also said that college officials are working on ways to curb the wasting of paper.
One way would be to help students learn more about their computers. Students should know that an easy way to save paper could be to e-mail the link or the content of the page to themselves.
Lay wants students to know that there are many other ways to receive information without having to print.
Other schools, such as Henry Ford Community College and Wayne County Community College, charge a 10 cent fee per printed page.
Some MCCC students say a charge wouldn’t bother them, considering the costs of ink and paper.
“It’s no problem at all; I just think the convenience is awesome,” Beth Laura, a student at MCCC, said.
But not everyone feels the same way.
“That’s nuts, especially when you have English classes that have 15-page papers and you are just trying to make ends meet as it is,” said Phil Borowski, an almost 2-year-student at MCCC. “I just hope they don’t do it.”
Other students approve the printing fees for environmental reasons.
“Going green is important right now; we have to do all we can to save paper and help the ecosystem,” said Shanna Swift, a first sememster student. “Paying for paper would lower the number of printed papers and help us recycle.”
