Alden Library might have some confused Bobcats due to the new printing system.
Ohio University students in a rush to print out a paper before class might now find themselves running into some problems.
In June, Alden Library started requiring patrons to have the necessary Bobcat Cash in their accounts before they can print using the building equipment. The College of Business printers, as well as both the Athens and Dublin campuses of the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, also require users to pay immediately to print.
Prior to the summer switch, students didn’t need to have the money in their accounts before printing. Students did have to pay the printing fees before they registered for the next semester of classes or before they could graduate.
OU’s Office of Information Technology sent out an email to students ahead of the change and said the new “pay-to-print” model would actually be beneficial to students since it would alleviate registration holds due to printing fees.
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But the revision to the printing procedure can complicate things as users must type in their Ohio ID numbers to correctly print. If you type in your PID number the computer still shows that your pages are printing when in fact, they are not.
The change does help make sure that you don’t have to wander around the library in search of the correct printer, as you can print anywhere using the new system.
We’re not exactly sure why OIT needed to make the switch. It’s a small change but is also one with potentially significant day-to-day ramifications for the OU student body.
Students already juggle a number of commitments in and outside of the classroom. The additional time it now takes to print off anything at Alden can be the difference between getting early to a lecture and having to sit in the backrow of a 400-seat classroom.
Editorials represent the majority opinion of The Post's executive editors: Editor-in-Chief Emma Ockerman, Managing Editor Rebekah Barnes, Opinion Editor Will Gibbs and Digital Managing Editor Samuel Howard. Post editorials are independent of the publication's news coverage.
