Dorms get ready for printing
In response to student requests during the Vision 2030 sessions, University of Indianapolis Information Systems is in the process of piloting a printing system in three residence halls: East, Roberts and Cory Bretz. IS plans to implement the pilot program over Spring Break and expand to all residence halls, including Campus Apartments, by Fall 2013.
According to Associate Vice President of Information Systems and Instructional Tech Services Steve Herriford, this new printing system will be different from the systems in other buildings on campus. The residence hall system will accept print jobs directly from student laptops, and the jobs will be sent to the printer for release over each building’s WiFi network.
IS is currently planning exactly how the printers will receive jobs. The current cost estimate for each residence hall is tentatively $4,500. However, Herriford said that total cost will depend on how much must be spent on the WiFi setup so the printers can receive jobs.
Herriford said that the location of print stations will vary by residence hall but likely will be near the front desk.
Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Kory Vitangeli said that resident assistants will monitor the printing process, so it may only be available during desk hours, at least, for the piloting stage.
Vitangeli said that residence hall printing is something students have expressed a desire for in the past.
“Printing in the residence halls has come up for years. There has always been an outcry from students,” Vitangeli said. “It came up again in the Vision 2030 sessions: students wanted convenient printing.”
According to Vitangeli, recent campus improvements such as extended Perk and Streets Corner hours, the newly upgraded Greyhound Fitness Center and the forthcoming residence hall printing proves that students’ voices are being heard.
“It’s something we can do to show students that we are listening and we want them to be happy,” Vitangeli said.
Herriford hopes that the printing system is only the beginning of future advancements stemming from Vision 2030.
“I hope this is the first step in new technology that will come from the president’s visioning process,” Herriford said.
As a UIndy Alumnus, Herriford said that he remembers what a hassle it was to cross campus for printing and added that the goal is to make life simpler for students.
“I lived in the residence hall when I went here. And I remember having to traipse across campus at night to pick up a print job,” Herriford said. “We just want to address student needs and do what we can to make life easier.”
