Kentucky State University’s Board of Regents unanimously took the decision to end a direct contract for printing and copier services with Xerox, voting instead to join a Commonwealth Ricoh contract with Xerox.
The State Journal reports that the original Services and Solution Agreement with Xerox began in 2011, with KSU President M. Christopher Brown II explaining that it was “an independent contract that runs through our institution alone – so it’s not a statewide contract.”
Brown added that terminating the contract would not incur any financial impact. According to The State Journal, “neither KSU administration nor students have been happy with the services provided by Xerox,” with students voicing displeasure over broken mailboxes and package delivery, among other things. “Students are not directly informed when a package has arrived for them. Instead, the students must go to the Xerox office in the Academic Services Building and check a printed list of students with packages.”
Other complaints include a lack of service when printers across campus run out of paper or toner, Brown explained, with students forced to go to the Xerox office, pick up the paper and then load it themselves.
One benefit of cancelling the current Xerox contract in favour of the statewide Ricoh contract, according to Brown, is the moving of the Xerox office from the Administration Services Building to the Student Centre. The new contract, which will cost KSU $11,883 (€10,533) per month, includes the construction of a “FedEx-type store”, providing package shelves, compressed mail shelves, and computer services, all in one central location.
