Professors should start using Blackboard for all assignments since the printing subsidy will disappear after next academic year.

Students are currently given $7 for printing each semester and will be allocated this for one more academic year. The decision to keep the printing subsidy was made a several weeks ago in response to a resolution by the Student Association, said Chief Information Officer Brett Coryell. If the printing subsidy will be eliminated after this academic year, professors should plan on using Blackboard for their assignments so students won’t need to use the on-campus printers as often, if at all.

As a student who does a lot of writing for her majors, I can say this printing subsidy runs out fast when you are turning in at least one essay a week. Now that it won’t be available at all, I think it is on professors to help make this transition easier.

Jared Vasquez, freshman engineering technologies and manufacturing major, said he prints at least two to three pages per week for papers.

“Not having that $7 is a disadvantage to us,” Vasquez said. “The majority of stuff should be turned in online but for papers I think we should be turning in hard copies no matter what just to have that record of it.”

Professors should start embracing Blackboard even more. While some use it for all assignments and announcements, other professors do not use it at all. What is worse is some teachers are not even aware of the printing policy change, so they have made no changes to their requirements.

“If my own printer isn’t working I rely on the printers around campus but if I don’t have money I don’t know what I’ll do,” said freshman accounting major Joseph Mendoza. “It’s definitely an inconvenience… . Teachers should make it so that we just turn stuff in online.”

Though all his teachers use Blackboard, Mendoza said three out of four of them require him to have hard copies of his work in addition to the online versions. Mendoza said he prints about five pages a week, which amounts to about $1.50 per month.

Not all students can afford the convenience of having their own printer in their room and even if they do, ink for printers is not cheap. Now any time a student wants to print on campus it will have to come out of pocket.

If the printing subsidy is going to be gone by the 2016-17 academic year, professors should prepare to use Blackboard for turning in assignments to take the burden of paying for printing off the students.