Next year's freshman may receive their orientation materials on jump drives
By Andy Matarrese
ASUP heard a proposal Monday to load all information for orientation, including the Student Handbook and Life on The Bluff, onto jump drives that would be distributed to all students at the beginning of each year.
Director of Student Activities Jeromy Koffler said that the idea is part of a plan to save money on printing costs.
"We print an awful lot of paper during orientation," Koffler said, explaining that the total costs for printing, binding and typesetting could be mitigated if all the information could be put into digital format.
According to Associate Director of Media Relations John Furey, the total cost for all the material student receive in ?the first weeks of school, including the Student Handbook, the ?Public Safety Crime Report, Life on The Bluff and all the orientation information, is about $16,000.
That doesn't include the cost of shipping, which adds much more.
One company Koffler contacted quoted the price for jump drives at $13,000 to $14,000.
"The company we've contacted and given us a quote is anxious to break into the college market," he said, adding they might be willing to give UP a good deal. Koffler and the Office of Student Activities are still looking around at other companies.
The costs for printing ?add up quickly, Koffler explained. Campus organizations or ?school departments that want a flier in the orientation folders ?can range from 35-50 groups, each asking for at least as many copies as there are incoming freshmen.
The plan is still under consideration, Koffler said, explaining that the Office of Student Activities would ?need to make sure the ?information distribution needs of other University departments are met.
"We would easily break even and even save some money," he said.
Koffler added that the plan would probably only work if the Student Handbook, the most expensive item, is put on the drives.
Koffler said he got the idea after going to a National Orientation Director Association conference in Boston. Many schools are trying to find ways to cut down on paper consumption and printing costs.
The information will probably be the same ?on each jump drive, meaning even non-freshmen will get the orientation information, but it will help keep the price low, Koffler said. Every change in the data or different set-up of the document flow constitutes a different order.
"The information is still handy regardless of what class you are," he said.
Some of the information, namely the Code of Conduct, and the Public Safety Crime Report, may still be available on hard copy in limited numbers.
Koffler said there is talk of making a smaller, abridged version of the calendar that goes in the handbook available to students.
According to Koffler, the planner is like a gift to ?students. The jump drives and the extra space for data storage would replace that.
"A lot of students are buying these as parts of their book budgets anyway," Koffler said.
Sophomore Kim Schuldt said she believed the planner and the printed materials wouldn't be much of a loss.
"That thing is like a dictionary," she said. "It sat in my drawer for a while, then I recycled it."
While potentially saving money, the switch to jump drives, as Koffler hopes, could also save a lot of paper.
"Our campus is moving toward a more sustainable future," ASUP Vice ?President Allison Able said, adding that it will eliminate waste, pointing to a box of unused Student Handbooks in the ASUP office.
Koffler predicted the project's future will be determined within the next four to six weeks, ?leaving time to start planning for next year's printed versions if need be.
