Southern University and A&M College Upgrades Mailing and Printing Ops

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 11/15/21

Southern University and A&M College has modernized its mail and printing operations, to notify recipients when mail has arrived for them and to expand in-house printing services. The Louisiana institution, which has 7,000 students and 1,500 staff and faculty members, worked with Ricoh USA on the initiatives.

A new campus mail center has replaced key-operated mailboxes with "high-density mailboxes." Students verify their identity with a tap of their ID badge. The mail center now also provides quotes for shipping via FedEx, UPS and the U.S. Postal Service, to help users compare prices. The facility also sells packaging and mailing materials on site, reducing the need for people to go off campus to buy them.

On the print side, previously, the university had sent much of its high-end print work, including recruiting, flyers and business cards, out of house for completion. The institution was hoping to reduce costs, gain faster turnaround and enhance print quality by bringing that work on campus. The university has implemented three kinds of printers from Ricoh — the Pro C71100SX, RICOH Pro 8110Se black and white cutsheet printer, and Pro L4130 wide format color latex printer — enabling the school to begin printing pandemic-related health and safety signage in-house, along with recruitment materials, window clings, flyers, saddle-stitch booklets, classroom packets, exams, business cards, graduation banners, signage, calendars, event passes and announcement cards.

Both operations are being run by Ricoh.

"Ricoh had a full-blown plan for new equipment, remodeling the print and mail center, and providing additional services. That was a huge selling point for us," said Benjamin Pugh, vice chancellor for Finance and Administration at the university, in a case study about the implementation.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • abstract pattern of shapes, arrows and circuit lines

    Internet2 Announces a New President and CEO to Step Up in October

    Internet2, the member-driven nonprofit offering advanced network technology services and cyberinfrastructure to the research and education community has completed its search, which began this past May, for a new president and CEO to take the helm.

  • shield with an AI microchip emblem hovering above stacks of gold coins

    AI Security Spend Surges While Traditional Security Budgets Shrink

    A new Thales report reveals that while enterprises are pouring resources into AI-specific protections, only 8% are encrypting the majority of their sensitive cloud data — leaving critical assets exposed even as AI-driven threats escalate and traditional security budgets shrink.

  • stack of gold coins disintegrates into digital particles against a dark circuit-board background with glowing AI imagery

    MIT Report: Most Organizations See No Business Return on Gen AI Investments

    A recent report out of the MIT Media Lab found that despite $30-40 billion in enterprise spending on generative AI, 95% of organizations are seeing no business return.

  • young man in a denim jacket scans his phone at a card reader outside a modern glass building

    Colleges Roll Out Mobile Credential Technology

    Allegion US has announced a partnership with Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) and Denison College, in conjunction with Transact + CBORD, to install mobile credential technologies campuswide. Implementing Mobile Student ID into Apple Wallet and Google Wallet will allow students access to campus facilities, amenities, and residence halls using just their phones.