#Education
Target:
Faculty of Graduate Studies and York Libraries
Region:
Canada
Website:
yugsa.ca

The Faculty of Graduate Studies (FGS) and York Libraries at York University recently made a cut to our graduate student printing credit.

This change, effective September 2017, means that all incoming graduate students will not receive the $300 per year (per student) printing credit. The cut will affect students who rely on the printing credit for many basic requirements of their degrees, such as course readings, assignments, scholarship and conference applications, research evaluation reports, and thesis work. The university administration has not stated whether the budget formerly allocated for graduate students' printing will go directly toward student needs.

The decision by York administration to unilaterally cut universal and free access to this service reflects a broader attack on the graduate student experience at York, as well as ongoing attempts by the university to transfer educational costs onto students.

The York University Graduate Students' Association (YUGSA), representing close to 6,000 graduate students, encourages everyone at York University to tell the administration that these cuts must be revoked immediately. The administration has cut this printing credit in the recent past and YUGSA mobilized members and won it back! We can do it again! We urge the graduate student community to sign our petition and send a personal e-mail to the following administrators about the cut to our printing credit:

Fahim Quadir, Interim Dean of FGS, fgsea@yorku.ca

Joy Kirchner, University Librarian, joyk@yorku.ca

Lisa Philipps, Interim VP Academic and Provost, lphilipps@osgoode.yorku.ca

Petition to Fahim Quadir, Faculty of Graduate Studies, Joy Kirchner, York University Libraries, and Lisa Philipps, VP Academic & Provost

Whereas before the 2017-18 school year York University Libraries allocated every registered graduate student $300 for printing every year which fulfilled printing needs not provided by teaching assistantships, research assistantships, and graduate assistantships; and

Whereas last November, YUGSA asked graduate students to complete a survey about their printing needs and the majority of students said that they relied on this printing allocation for many basic requirements of their degrees, such as course readings, assignments, scholarship and conference applications, research evaluation reports, and thesis work, and they said the use of electronic devices for e-books commonly leads to physical strain (i.e. on eyes); and

Whereas neither the Faculty of Graduate Studies nor York University Libraries have publicly stated how they plan to reinvest the funds previously allocated for printing, as of now graduate students do not know if those funds will go directly toward their needs; and

Whereas other post-secondary schools like Humber College provide an universal printing allocation of 1,000 pages of printing per student per year, thus providing the resources for student success, and if York Graduate Studies and York University Libraries followed this model, they would help our programs be the top choice for students; therefore,

We, the undersigned, petition Dr. Fahim Quadir, Interim Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies, Joy Kirchner, Head Librarian of York University Libraries, and Lisa Philipps, Interim VP Academic and Provost, to reinstate the printing allocation of $300 per registered graduate student per school year.

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The Save our $300 per year printing credit for all graduate students at York! petition to Faculty of Graduate Studies and York Libraries was written by York University Graduate Students' Association and is in the category Education at GoPetition.