Forums to weigh paperless pros

The Faculty Senate issued the University a challenge: Go paperless.
The campus-wide effort has economic and environmental benefits, but it’s easier said than done, said Rebecca Lubas, Faculty Senate Computer Use Committee chair. She said the main campus computer pod and library printers processed nearly 2 million jobs in fall 2010.

“We’re not expecting to be able to go 100 percent paperless, but we need to figure out how to stop printing as much as we are now,” she said.
The committee is hosting two on-campus forums today and Wednesday that will allow professors and students to ask questions, learn about going paperless and offer feedback about how to use electronic classroom alternatives.

University staff member Elizabeth Milford said a paperless class would be near impossible. She also said learning to use technology could be difficult for professors who aren’t used to it.

“It’s an access issue,” she said. ”Everyone assumes that everyone has computer or a laptop to access these things, but that’s discrimination against those who don’t.”

But UNM researcher Charlie Jackson said going paperless isn’t as difficult as it seems.

“I think you can get pretty close to paperless,” he said. “Tests, notes and textbooks can all be put online.”

Programs like WebCT allow students to access course materials online, but professor James Burbank said reading online documents reduces comprehension. He said departments pressure professors to print less, which forces students to print materials on their own.

“It’s not fair to the students,” he said. “I’ve had to cut my printing to almost nothing, but somebody still has to bear the cost of what needs to be printed.”

Lubas said that issue is one of many that will be addressed at the forums.

“That’s putting the cost on students,” she said. “And students can afford it even less than the University.”