The University of New Mexico has partnered with Wēpa, a cloud printing service designed to deliver improved campus printing services for students.
Wēpa, which was made available to students at the beginning of the fall semester, offers a cloud print solution that eliminates the need for servers on campus. The system fits easily into a student’s daily life and technology habits. Documents can be uploaded in a number of convenient, easy-to-use methods from campus and personal computers, tablets and smartphones using a browser, mobile, email, cloud and USB.
“The Wēpa project evolved through UNM’s IT Effectiveness and Efficiency initiatives and discussion with University Libraries about how we could best collaborate and make effective use of limited UNM Funds,” said Elisha Allen, the director of academic technology at UNM IT. “Although funding was a factor in the decision, we saw an opportunity with this solution to both dramatically improve services and decrease costs to the university.”
Wēpa allows students to send print jobs directly from a wide variety of devices and solutions, including Mac/PC printing, document uploads using a browser, mobile, email, cloud and USB. Students can then retrieve their prints from any of the more than 50 print stations located in libraries, computer labs, classroom buildings and other locations across campus.
“We believe it provides a better printing experience for students while also allowing the university to prioritize limited funds on higher priority needs such as lab computing, software subscriptions, and audio/visual equipment in classrooms,” said Allen.
The new program also allows consistent printing prices at the various Wēpa print stations across campus. For many locations, that previously offered print services, these rates are lower than the current rate.
“The Wēpa contract is an annual contract with renewal options, and represents cost savings to the University of over $50,000 in the IT department alone,” said Allen. “University Libraries, which eliminated their printing credit last year, had been operating a printing service internally on a cost recovery model. Students printing in the libraries will see a decrease in their cost per page for printing.”
Wēpa supports many payment methods including LoboCa$h, Wēpa Print Cards, PayPal, and credit/debit cards.
More information can be found at Student Printing at UNM or visit the Wēpa website.
