IDS prints course directory

Today's Indiana Daily Student will feel a bit heftier than normal. For the first time in years, the IDS is printing a full listing of courses for the fall semester.\nThe special 48-page booklet, consisting of four 12-page sections, lists every course offered for the fall 2006 semester.\nIU staff and faculty members involved in publishing the course directory said there are several reasons this year's booklet is being published in the IDS.\n"There have been continued problems with software -- what used to be a simple process is now taking students a long time," said David Adams, director of student media. He said he believes the paper version of the directory will be easier for students to navigate than the sometimes rigid and confusing OneStart system. This year's directory will be cheaper than previous printings of the course directory, which were published by the office of the registrar.\nAssociate Registrar Michael Carroll said it was not cost effective to print a magazine-style book, like the ones used until a couple years ago. The old paper directories were prepared months in advance of publication, and a special section in the IDS can be changed up until several days before publication. Carroll said this new method of printing course directories could be much more effective and timely than the old way.\n"At the time, (the printed version) was ... at least one month out-of-date when delivered," he said.\nAn IU Student Association survey in fall 2005 showed that students preferred an electronic version of the course listings to a paper one, given the costs of printing a paper directory, Carroll said.\nAdams said this year's directory cost between $8,500 and $9,500 to publish, and that most of the costs would come from the printing of the directory. He added that the office of the registrar did not pay for the directory to be printed as an advertisement, and said that the IDS is publishing the directory as a service to the school. Adams said that if the directory had been published as a commissioned advertisement without discounts, the 48-page booklet would have cost the registrar's office about $85,000. He said that several IU schools and colleges, along with IU student media funds, will pay for the publishing costs this year.\nAdams is not sure if the IDS will print the directory in future semesters.\n"It's an experiment," he said. "Some day maybe they'll get the electronic stuff worked out (and students will exclusively use the software to look for classes)"