Multiply the average length of a syllabus, 7 pages, by the number of courses a student takes each semester or term, by the number of students.

If you have a student body of 5,000 taking 5 courses a semester—that’s 175,000 sheets of paper just for syllabi, not including reprints!

One faculty member at the University of Iowa estimated that she alone used 9 reams of paper per course! With the help of the Information Technology Services Department, the university was able to get course materials such as syllabi online.

These are just a few examples of how syllabi impact the environment and a college’s bottom line.  Here are a few factors to consider in your calculation:

• The cost of trees and paper: how much do you spend on paper for syllabi?
• Add in the cost of purchasing expensive toner cartridges.
• More printing translates to larger print loads, wear and tear, and more manpower maintenance.
• Larger printing loads can be added to the number of printers to be purchased equation.