The policy, which permits $10 of printed materials for undergraduates and $15 for graduate students may seem like a reasonable way for the university to save money. But in reality, it restricts many traditional studying practices and limits writing and research for graduates students, who often have print-heavy curriculum.

This policy, along with the limiting of hours of operation for on-campus computer labs, sends a message to both current and prospective students: A student must own both a computer and printer of their own to get a complete educational experience.

This is restrictive to people with lower income, as well as people who do not have a particular level of technological know-how.

The printed-page limit, approximately 250 pages, may seem like a high number of pages that not many people will reach. However, the people that go over that limit and need to pay extra to use campus resources may feel unfairly targeted.

The most reasonable solution may be to abolish this policy and cut spending in other areas to save the same amount of money.

Another possibility would be to alter the current system. There are many students that do not use on-campus printer resources at all.

Giving students an option to claim how many pages they expect to print on-campus may help give more pages to the students that actually need them. If students were to claim usage of less or no pages, the surplus pages could be redistributed to the students who would use them.

These on-campus computer and printer resources are where a portion of student tuition goes. While costs for resources are constantly rising, questions also have to be raised.

In a year where CMU has the largest incoming class in its history and thus more tuition dollars, how can the university not afford appropriate amounts of these commodity resources? Are they spending that excessively?

As a learning institution, CMU should be changing policies and assigning money to make sure students have all the resources they need to complete their classes and learn their necessary information and skills, instead of taking these resources away from them.

And those were only the printers in line for conversion to the new “PrintQ” printing solution- the new quota-based printing system which went live June 28.

The new system allocates students currently registered for classes $10 worth of prints per semester, a system that yields 250 pages of black-and-white pages at four cents per page.

Color prints cost 32 cents per page. More prints can be purchased in increments of $2, or 50 black and white prints.

“We’re going to be asking ourselves, ‘Does this work?’” said Roger Rehm, vice president of Information Technology. “We’ll be asking everybody else, too.”

Rehm said the numbers were decided on meet about 60 to 70 percent of student’s needs without any need for further purchases.

He said about the upper quartile will need to buy more pages.

“PrintQ” is currently online at the Woldt and Grawn Hall computer labs, as well as labs across Anspach and Sloan.

While the system is intended to only allow students currently registered for classes access to the “free” 250 prints, it is currently available to anyone on CMU’s network.

Though the launch has proceeded smoothly so far, the load of users over the summer is not indicative of the traffic the system will have to deal with come fall, Rehm said.

“When I first heard 250 pages I thought it was a lot, but then I started printing stuff and it goes quicker than you think,” said Jerome graduate student Jamie Cook.

She said students will need to be more selective about what they print.

Au Gres senior Clark Larson said he understands the need for more student responsibility in printing.

“I’ll definitely make sure I’m printing six slides on a page instead of just one,” Larson said.

Delays and relocations

The new “CMail” e-mail system was originally slated to be released for students today, but has been delayed until July 21, in order to ensure a smooth user experience at launch.

“We’d like to get it out there at a time when people will feel they really like what they’ve got,” Rehm said.

Similar Zimbra based systems are currently in use by Eastern Michigan University, Wayne State and several other higher education institutions.

The Grawn Hall computer labs are currently closed for renovations over the summer. The labs have been temporarily relocated to Grawn 158 until work is done.

The university expanded with new buildings and programs over the years, and now is enduring a tough state economy and rising tuition. The football team spent the first half of this decade as a bottom-feeder in the Mid-American Conference, then
went on to win three of the last four conference titles.

And now, as a new decade begins, a new page turns at Central Michigan University. Here is what we think CMU should aim for in the first year of the 2010s.

Find a good coach

The football team is in transition with three-year coach Butch Jones leaving for Cincinnati and players such as Dan LeFevour and Antonio Brown on their way out. It is critical to find someone to continue Jones’ winning work at CMU.

Football is a force in the Mount Pleasant economy. Students and alumni will not come to Kelly/Shorts Stadium to see a football team that loses, and local businesses will feel the effects the hardest.

With other big sports such as men’s and women’s basketball not generating excitement, the football team must continue its winning ways.

Athletic Director Dave Heeke has a pressure-filled decision to make.

Lab hours

Last semester, computer labs around campus experienced a slash in hours in order to save $80,000.

This is nothing, however, when compared to the other expenses and projects that the university is embarking upon.

Lab hours at Woldt and Grawn halls should be restored to 24 hours like they used to be. The primary focus of college is to ensure that students have the resources necessary to succeed, and computer labs are a part of those resources.

Many students are busy through out the day between classes, jobs, and other university activities.

Not all can afford to have a computer. The labs solved these problems by allowing students to enter at any time.

A few computer labs are open for 24 hours on certain days, but that’s not enough to satisfy the demand.

At least two computer labs should be open at all times any day of the week so there are enough computers for every students that needs one.

Save money

A sharp eye has to stay on CMU’s budget with Michigan’s economy struggling.

The university just built a new education building.

Rose Arena is undergoing some much-needed renovations.

The medical school add-on to the Health Professions Building is the next big project and will soon begin construction.

While these projects have potential to expand and make CMU better, officials needs to be aware of how much money they are spending.

Michigan’s economy has slowly gotten worse the past few years and won’t improve for awhile.

With tuition increasing every year, CMU’s enrollment will most likely decrease.

Large projects can no longer be the main focus if CMU expects to survive the next decade.

The university will face numerous challenges as we head into the new year.

CMU will have to make some critical decisions to make sure students get their money’s worth in Mount Pleasant.

But surprisingly, it’s closed. Panic seeps in.

The new lab hours for Grawn and Woldt labs are constricted from previous years because of university budget constraints, forcing students to reschedule time set aside to do homework. This is ridiculous. The labs should remain open 24 hours, just as they always were.

Grawn is now open from 6 a.m. to midnight weekdays, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturdays and 2 p.m. to midnight Sundays. Woldt is not quite as bad, staying open 24 hours Monday through Thursday, closing at 5 p.m. on Fridays. Woldt has the same hours as Grawn on the weekends, making it impossible for students to pull all-nighters.

Having the computer labs open 24 hours is more than convenient; it gave students one less thing to worry about, since they knew eventually they could do their homework. With classes piling up homework and extra-cirricular activities running late into the evening after classes, some students find early-morning hours are the only time they can get homework done.

Not every student is fortunate enough to own a computer. Access to a computer at any hour during the day allows for no excuses as to why homework is unfinished. In a time when everything is done with a computer, limited access makes the task all that more difficult.

As tuition continues to increase, there seems to be little sense in taking away a privilege that students already had before tuition increased. Lab fees are not decreasing in price, so the hours should not decrease as well.

It is understandable why Central Michigan University would want to cut back on lab hours, attributing the problem to budget deficits. According to the school, the labs cost around $450,000 – $100,000 more than the budget set aside. $80,000 a year will be saved by cutting back on lab hours.

Despite these savings, the labs should be open as much as possible. The first priority is to give students every opportunity possible to succeed. Keeping the labs open 24 hours allows students to study at any time, something the university should be encouraging.

But if the university has to cut back the hours, they should at least stagger them so at least one lab is open at all times. Instead of having both labs opened for the same hours during the weekend, one lab open should remain open from midnight to 7 a.m., allowing students to pull all-nighters. The same hours should be applied to the weekday schedule so one lab is open at all times.

Both computer labs may become overcrowded, but at least students will still be able to study at any hour during the day.

The university’s two major computer labs, Woldt and Grawn halls, are trimming hours this semester.

Grawn Hall’s computer lab, previously open 24 hours with the exception of some weekend hours, will now be open 6 a.m. to midnight on weekdays and until 5 p.m. Friday. On weekends, it is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. to midnight Sunday.

Woldt’s lab will remain open 24 hours a day during Monday through Thursday, but will close at 5 p.m. Fridays and will have the same weekend hours as Grawn Hall’s computer lab.

The new lab hours resulted from a unanimous decision by the Office of Information and Technology, the College of Business Administration and the College of Science and Technology over the summer in an effort to save the university money.

“The hours are being reduced because we don’t have the money to keep them open,” said Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer Roger Rehm. “The changes had to be done. We’re running deficits.”

Rehm said the university budgets around $350,000 a year on the public labs and, within the past couple years, the labs have exceeded that cost by about $100,000.

Cutting Grawn Hall’s lab hours will save approximately $22,000 a year and, to further save money, Rehm said the labs will be closed during weeks where school is not in session and some staffing levels have been reduced.

With these changes, he said the university will save around $80,000 annually.

Unhappy lab campers

Sanford junior Casey Smith regularly works nights in Grawn Hall’s computer lab and said many students are unhappy about these changes.

Smith said he had to tell about 20 people to leave at midnight Monday.

He said during exam weeks, it is not unusual for there to be 30 students in the lab at 4 a.m.

“A lot of students are used to coming into Grawn to do their homework,” he said. “You can’t even find a computer during exam week.”

Marquette senior Danielle Rubis came into Grawn Hall at around 11:15 p.m. Tuesday. She was shocked to learn the lab would soon be closing.

Rubis said she stays past midnight in Grawn Hall two or three times a week.

“It’s very disappointing,” she said. “If it was open, I’d be in here until three in the morning.”

Rehm said the current lab hours are not permanent and may be subject to change.

Within the next few weeks, Rehm said he hopes to establish an advisory committee of 12 to 18 students to discuss ways the university can provide students with the best service given the money available.

He hopes to start meeting with students by late September to discuss possible alternatives. Students interested can contact Rehm at rehm1re@cmich.edu.