Commonplace in classrooms is the requirement or expectation that students must print off materials, be it a written essay or an in-class reading. Most commonly, the cost of printing falls to the student to pay for. While a printing stipend is given each year (approximately three dollars), this printing fund can be quickly depleted depending on the quantity and color requirements of the document. Any printing after that fund is gone then falls on the student to personally fund their Loyola ID with more money. Furthermore, these print outs tend to be one-time use and can already be accessed digitally if they are being printed off by the student. The Paper-Limited Initiative seeks to address the financial concern students face when printing as well as promote sustainability in the classrooms by use of digital alternatives to paper. 

This initiative seeks a policy change at the University wide level to ensure financial equity within all learning environments as well as continue Loyola’s mission of pursing more sustainable practices. The policy, more specifically, would ideally be a written addendum in syllabus (such as the Honesty Policy notice) stating that no printed materials will be required for this course. This however does not bar paper from the classrooms, professors may still print as little or as much material to disseminate to the class as they wish. Our hope is that by taking the first steps to a more sustainable classroom, the policy will slowly show the benefits of digital alternatives to paper and further the transition to a increasingly paper limited culture within Loyola’s classrooms.