Out of paper

It’s the beginning of the third week of classes and I have already used my entire semester’s print quota.

IU students are allotted a certain number of pages per semester they can print. The cost of those pages is factored into tuition and is paid for by a portion of the nearly $200.00 student technology fee. I’m certain there are plenty of irresponsible ways to quickly deplete the given print quota. In fact, the University Information Technology Services Web site provides a helpful list of tips to avoid using up your allotment. It also informed me that few students print more than 200 pages per semester. I’m already pushing 700.

Maybe I happen to have a statistically improbable group of friends who print unusual amounts of readings, but I think the increasing amount of people I know who quickly use up this “free” printing allowance has more to do with the changing nature of technology.

Instructors are increasingly making readings available via Oncourse, and in doing so, theoretically help students save significant sums on textbooks. I’m fairly certain that the lower textbook costs offset the fairly cheap cost to print more than the allowance. The cost per page of over-quota printing is $0.04. The broader shift toward electronically provided course materials should prompt serious consideration of the current printing allowance.

There is a psychological component to the print quotas. As I diligently double-side my hours’ worth of reading and writing assignments, I watch my “remaining pages” quickly disappear.

While most of us rarely spend more than IU’s suggested budget of $650 on textbooks, it’s actually wise to set that figure so far in the sky.

Anchors and incentives play a role in students’ decisions about how they will study. Because the University sets such a high anchor for the cost of textbooks, more students are likely to purchase all of the required books, rather than pursuing cheaper options. If IU suggested that $200 was a typical amount to spend, students would perhaps return a few of the books to the shelf.

UITS should follow suit with print quotas. If print quotas were set higher, even at an initially steeper cost to students, I wouldn’t stop to reconsider every time I print a reading. As professors give our wallets a break, IU should consider policies to encourage students to stay organized and read thoroughly by reducing the negative incentive of printing more than the quotas. It’s a slight psychological shift, but incentivizing less-than-ideal work habits is a regrettable action.