Schools in the United States received critical financial aid as a result of the nearly $130 billion COVID relief package. But those funds were only temporary. The latest school funding package for Title I fell short of the anticipated $20 billion boost. As a result, many school administrators and controllers will continue to struggle as they allocate funds for critical services.
One way to help reign in school budgets is to implement Managed Print Services (MPS) for education. Not only does this helpful service save money, it also saves time. MPS is a practical and economical solution for educational organizations, allowing students and teachers to get back to focusing on what’s most important.
School districts and educational institutions are challenged with tighter budgets and greater scrutiny of line item expenses. The potential for another recession has many administrators on edge, especially those in high-poverty areas since they’re more reliant on revenue from income taxes and sales taxes.
Tight budgets typically mean that schools need to sacrifice spending in other areas — postponing facility improvements, reducing student services, minimizing supply purchases or limiting wage increases. Staff training is also a major pain point, with more than four in 10 educators saying they receive insufficient training due to lack of funding.
MPS results in fixed monthly billing, so planning committees and administrators can accurately forecast print costs, reduce administrative workloads and simplify their budgets, making for smoother approval processes. The service also helps determine accurate supply needs, eliminating unnecessary overhead, lack of storage and supply shortages, all of which can lead to costly downtime.
RELATED CASE STUDY:
Marquette University Improves Efficiency of Its Managed Print Environment
Improving a school’s printing environment can help improve the earth’s environment, too. A thorough print assessment from a MPS provider will help determine which machines are wasting energy or consuming too much power and make recommendations for more energy-efficient devices. They can also establish a recycling program for paper, toner and old machines.
MPS also helps implement simple guidelines that will reduce waste, like two-sided printing or push printing. Detailed usage reports help track consumable supplies so you can analyze where and when items are being printed to pinpoint potential savings.
Schools are well suited for green initiatives, as young people are increasingly voicing concern over environmental issues like climate change and renewable energy. They are key actors in raising awareness, enacting conservation measures and adopting environmentally friendly practices. Saving paper not only reduces costs, it reduces waste and a school’s environmental footprint.
Many schools operate across multiple campuses with a fleet of printers and thousands of users. Most schools are surprised to discover that they might actually be able to reduce their number of printing devices and streamline their printing fleet, bringing inherent cost savings. That’s because, with Managed Print, teachers and students have the ability to print documents from anywhere using the network and multiple approved devices, including mobile printing. Print jobs can be retrieved from any printer by logging in with credentials.
Staff can also spend more time focusing on student learning. With Managed Print, they’ll no longer need to fix printer problems, figure out supply orders or deal with network printer issues.
Most K-12 schools do not have a dedicated budget for cybersecurity, let alone a dedicated staff member. That’s a major concern as cyberattacks on schools are expected to increase in 2022 and beyond. Ransomware attacks already cost U.S. schools and colleges more than $6.6 billion in 2020 alone.
Most school staff are unaware of the security risks posed by print devices in their educational environments. Today’s multifunction printers are sophisticated machines that are connected to computer networks. As such, a school’s printing infrastructure needs similar security protocols as PCs, laptops and other devices.
Maintaining confidential student records is a major concern for administrators, and mitigating print security risks with a fleet of shared printers can be a challenge. When documents containing confidential data are left on printer trays, it opens up opportunities for breaching compliance protocol. With Managed Print, users can hold a print job in queue until they’re able to retrieve it. Then, they simply use a PIN number or badge/card reader to authenticate the request.
RELATED: Supporting Current School Initiatives with Managed Print
The use of computers and other technology is an integral part of classroom learning. Many school IT professionals are being pulled in varying directions and struggle to find a balance between the equipment needs of students and those of administrative offices. Much of an IT department’s time is spent troubleshooting printer issues, such as paper jams, toner requests and network connection errors. And, as we all know, time is money.
If the time spent attending to printer issues means a classroom’s computer or equipment problem is prolonged, it can detract from students’ learning. When a Managed Print solution is implemented, alerts are sent directly to the provider when an issue arises, and steps are initiated automatically to service any issues. The result is reduced downtime and less strain on IT personnel.
Learn how Managed Print Service can meet your school’s print budget challenges and ultimately help teachers and administrators increase their focus on student learning. Request a free, no obligation consultation today.
