Augusta, GA -- According to Friday’s Augusta (Ga.) Chronicle, the financial aid office at Augusta State University (ASU)is beginning the move towards paperless. Previously, students were able to have copies made there at no charge but now are being asked to go to other buildings on campus and pay between four and thirty cents per sheet. The sign was first posted on March 1 of this year and falls in line with a fast growing trend in government and higher education.
A spokeswoman from ASU, Danielle Harris, indicated in an e-mail that this new policy was created in response to budget cuts. Ms. Harris further stated that “It’s not a campuswide mandate, but ‘All of ASU's offices are doing their part to help the university save money (this includes recycling paper).’”
ASU is not the only organization in Georgia moving towards being paperless. The Richmond County School System has imposed a limit on each of their teachers for their copies, with each school making allocations based on their respective budgets. One possible paper saving choice is the use of electronic purchase orders.
The Georgia Professional Standards Commission also jumped in to the paperless movement. Instead of printing each teacher’s certificate, the documents are available electronically and thus, are only printed on demand if at all. That move is projected to save the GPSC $50,000 or more per year.
Finally, for the city of Augusta, their IT department has started a green initiative to encourage employees to only print what is necessary. To this end, they began in 2009 to require all new printers to have a default setting for duplex printing.
