Computer Labs Are Looking Like Anachronisms
But printing, software, support, and jobs remain pressing issues
On Friday morning, Boston University President Robert A. Brown was sitting in his corner office working his way, “whereas” by “whereas,” through a BU Student Union resolution released the night before. Students had refined and redefined their position on the most contentious issue facing the campus this spring: changing the way computers and printing are made available in common areas across the University.
“They’ve moved in such a constructive way,” Brown mused. “It’s fascinating, because really, I agree with almost every single thing in here. There are still some areas where I see things differently, but they’ve come a long way — we’ve come a long way.”
There may never be consensus on an issue as divisive as what kind of computer services the University should provide, Brown knows. The present system, which offers free computers and free printing at various locations across the campus, is expensive and, some say, a holdover from days gone by. But it also has become an issue and a symbol to some students, who see a potential loss of services even as tuitions rise.
If common ground emerges, if policy can shift in a way that saves a million dollars a year while addressing key student concerns, Brown will be more than content. That result would be a major victory for his management style as well: fact-based, data-driven, avoiding top-down, autocratic decision-making.
What to do with the University’s “reslabs” (common areas in residences where computers and printers are available) and “complabs” (ditto, in areas such as Mugar Memorial Library and 111 Cummington Street) is a complicated question, one that embraces elements as disparate as technology and tree-hugging, entitlement and employment. And it’s one that University officials hope to answer soon after the semester ends.
According to Michael Krugman, interim vice president for information systems and technology and chair of a working group created by Brown to study the issue, there are 95 “labs” sprinkled across Boston University. His group has counted nearly 2,000 workstations, most of them PCs, some Macs, many aging and approaching obsolesence.
“Ten years ago, these labs were motivated by a very different context,” Krugman recalls. At that time, only a quarter of the student body owned a computer, almost always a desktop, not a laptop. Krugman says the University felt an obligation to “level the playing field” by investing in computers and creating access for everyone.
“Now,” says Brown, “laptop penetration is about 95 percent, and we have Internet access in all buildings.”
Those numbers appear to render rows of aging computers in labs obsolete, much as cell phones have made landlines in dorm rooms obsolete. But there remains one powerful benefit of the existing facilities: free printing.
As the administration began to address this issue, a survey of reslab users was commissioned. More than 1,300 students responded, reports Krugman, “and to the question ‘Why do you use them?’ almost 90 percent said the same thing: printing.” The second most popular reason was to take advantage of a quiet study environment. And the third, “but only something like 3 percent,” was for socializing.
Current University policy gives all BU students a quota of free printing, in most cases 200 pages a year. But, says Krugman, “when you run out, yes, you have to ask for more, but you always get it. In fact, it’s a rubber stamp, and it’s unlimited. So students became careless and wasteful — and not just students, by the way. People just press print, and then they’re not sure if it worked, so they press print again. A lot of stuff is winding up in wastebaskets.”
Brown addresses the problem with a classic adage: “As every economist tells every economics student, ‘A free good is overused.’” And while exact numbers are hard to come by, Brown believes that the University is wasting millions of pieces of paper every semester — a lot of money, as well as a lot of trees. Krugman estimates that the actual annual cost of this “free” printing, from paper and cartridges to printer maintenance and repairs, is “north of a million dollars, maybe several million dollars.
“Students can now buy a printer for $50 to $100 that’s more capable than what we provide,” says Krugman. “We believe that pretty much every student owns a printer, but they don’t necessarily bring it to the University. And why should they, if printing here is free?”
Krugman adds one more argument that emerged from his research: no other university he contacted provides free printing.
BU faces budget challenges at every turn, and Brown believes he sees cost savings in this area that won’t impact the University’s core mission. One possible solution, he says, would grant students some free printing (just how many pages remains a sticking point), but enforce that limit, and then move to a pay-as-you-go system, using credits on a Terrier card to cover new charges.
Krugman says it also seems likely that a central facility, perhaps in Mugar or on Cummington Street, will remain open, and that reslabs will be converted into common areas that look and feel more like lounges than computer banks — “collaboratories,” as he calls them.
That solution would require more extensive networking to provide more printers in residences as well as access to special purpose software required by different disciplines. That, says Krugman, is one more argument for retaining a central facility, for backup and technical support.
Leaders of the BU Student Union have several other elements they are lobbying to include in the emerging plan. Leo Gameng (CAS’09), cosponsor of the resolution that emerged late last week, wants a central lab that will remain open 24 hours a day and a better escort system to help students get to and from the lab safely. Gameng says if savings from the closing of reslabs and from restrictions on printing translate into a smaller tuition increase, or no increase at all, many would be satisfied.
Julianne Corbin (CAS’12), another coauthor of the Student Union resolution, says she hopes the University leadership understands that “just because you have a computer doesn’t mean you have all the resources you need.” Whether it’s sharing expensive software or providing a backup if your laptop crashes, she says, University support would make a critical difference. Gameng and Corbin also voice concern for 60 student jobs that might be lost if labs shut down, and they want guarantees that the University will place those student employees elsewhere. They also admit that rumors and misinformation about the future of the reslabs fueled misunderstanding.
“That’s why we had a big blowup,” says Gameng. “Looking back, our initial resolution was way off base, because we were responding to rumors.”
The students’ new resolution, which made its way to Brown’s desk on Friday morning, calls for the following:
“A method through which a student of any technological background will be able to print remotely to a printer of their choice on campus.”
Agreed, says Brown.
“All printing methods will be sufficiently publicized to the student body.”
Agreed, says Brown.
“Some on-campus computing hub will be accessible to students at all times and will provide them with the software necessary for their educational success.”
The complication there, says Brown, is the phrase “at all times.” While there is a long tradition of students pulling all-nighters to get work done, he says, that mindset vanishes once people enter the workforce. “Is it our responsibility to let you set your own schedule until the day you leave us?” Brown wonders. “Because as soon as you get a job, the idea of doing something at 4 a.m. instead of during work hours, well, that just disappears.”
“There should be an increase in availability of the Boston University Escort Service to serve patrons of the computing hub.”
This gets back to the previous question, says Brown. “At 4 a.m., you need an escort. At 4 p.m., you don’t.”
“Boston University should promote the placement of Residential Computing Lab staff in paid and volunteer positions relevant to their intended careers.”
Agreed, says Brown, adding that he hopes that working as a monitor at a computer lab is not a coveted career path. While details remain to be worked out, Brown says he is heartened that no one is arguing that the proposed changes will damage the quality of education.
“And is it the right use of community space, going forward, to have rows of aging computers filling them?” he asks. “My research says no.”
One more sign of change: when the new Student Village towers open in the fall, the entire complex will have wireless access, and be wired, too. There also is common space for students to meet, greet, and work.
But don’t expect to find a “computer lab.”
Amy Laskowski contributed to this report.
Seth Rolbein can be reached at srolbein@bu.edu. Amy Laskowski can be reached at amlaskow@bu.edu.
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