A new system that will change the way New Mexico State University students print documents within computer labs will be discussed at noon, Friday, Oct. 6 in the Information and Communication Technologies department.

The Student Technology Advisory Committee meeting is the first in a series this semester that will discuss the Pharos Uniprint system and its fees. The pay-for-print program will track and monitor the print jobs of students and faculty throughout campus. The Zuhl Library uses Pharos, but its expansion throughout campus is planned.
 

Teresa Burgin, ICT Senior Technical Director of Instructional Support Services, said the system could be implemented throughout campus as soon as next semester and over time will affect about 35 to 40 printing areas. Currently students are asked to leave three cents per printed page in lab deposit boxes, but are not required to do so before, or after, using the lab.

“Right now we’re using the honor system and we don’t get a lot of money in those boxes,” Burgin said. “There was $16 collected in the Vista del Monte (Community Center deposit) box over the summer sessions. The amount of money received compared to the amount of printer and toner used is minimal.”

According to Burgin, computer labs are losing money because student printing is not monitored. The amount of pages a student may print is unlimited and because there is no charge, printing waste is also a problem. Burgin said that the average amount of time for cost recovery using Pharos is about one to two years. The program could be used to monitor faculty printing so cost may be managed more effectively.

“The more you print the more equipment you have to replace over time,” Burgin said.

Pharos pilot labs, which may be found throughout Jacobs Hall, require a student to login on a terminal after a document is sent to a printer. The login information is the same used to login on a lab computer, a myNMSU username and password. After logging in a student must swipe their ID through a card reader attached to the terminal. A list of the student’s printing jobs will appear and the individual may pick which job they wish to print. Burgin said the pilot labs were established to make sure there are no glitches before the system is completely installed.

“(The Pharos system) is not much different,” Burgin said. “There’s one additional step.”

With Pharos, a certain amount of pages, which has not been determined yet, will be free of charge to print for all students, Burgin said. After the allotted amount is surpassed, students will then be charged through their university accounts each time they swipe their ID and print.

Burgin said the cost per page has not been determined either. She also said prices that may be considered include 5 cents to 10 cents for black and white, and 50 cents to 90 cents for color pages. A price for non-students who wish to print will also be determined.

“The (amounts) will be discussed throughout the semester,” Burgin said. “It isn’t going to be some arbitrary number; it will be based on our peer institutions.”

She also said the STAC and Faculty Advisory Committee onTechnology will provide input regarding Pharos.
“I think the main thing is that students don’t feel like we’re price gouging them,” Burgin said.

Benjamin Hardy, president of the Associated Students of NMSU and STAC committee chair, said it is important that the printing fees are an amount that is feasible for both students and the university.

“Students pay for every page anyway,” Hardy said. “The money comes out of students fees and goes towards ink (and other supplies.)”
Discussion of the Pharos system will continue to be in progress Hardy said.

“(Pharos) is meant to ease the pain of having to buy a copy card,” Hardy said. “Parents could forward money on the card (too.)”

Though Burgin said she has not encountered much opposition regarding the Pharos system, Jesus Sanchez, a Jacobs Hall computer lab assistant, said the majority of students are angry.

“I’m torn between (using the system or not,)” Sanchez said. “It takes people more time (to print,) but a lot of people are not paying. It’s 3 cents a page. That may not sound like much, but when it’s thousands of pages, it adds up.”

Irene Abagi, a Jacobs Hall Student Computer Service Center lab assistant, said at the beginning of the semester students were angry. However, as the semester has passed more people are accepting Pharos, but are having a hard time adjusting, she said.

“People wasting (print documents) takes money,” Abagi said. “They may say ‘The money comes from tuition,’ but it’s too bad this system is going to be implemented because people waste.”

According to Luz Tapia, a senior Elementary Bilingual Education major, the Pharos system gives students better control. She said at first it confused her, but later she realized it was the same system in use at the Zuhl Library, which made it easier for her.

“There is no reason people should feel like (they dislike) the system,” Tapia said, while collecting documents from a printer in Jacobs Hall 128. “I feel like technology is here to use. The more we use it, the better.”
Vickie Montoya, a junior Elementary Education major, said the system is very easy for her to use.           

“I don’t see how they could make it any easier,” Montoya said, while swiping her ID card at a Pharos terminal. “I think people don’t like it just because they don’t like an extra step.”

Students with questions or concerns regarding Pharos may contact Hardy at 646-4415 and pres@nmsu.edu. Students may also contact Teresa Burgin at 646-2696 and tburgin@nmsu.edu. Hardy said the October STAC/FACT meeting would be an open meeting, but is a closed forum.

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