Our Challenge
“There’s no concept of offline anymore. Everybody’s online with access available from anywhere, any time. So we have to provide our students, faculty and staff with the expected high level of technology on campus. And we have to be there before everybody else. We have to have an understanding of innovative technology and deliver it every day.”
Our Solution
“We deployed Apple® iPad® tablets to our faculty, management and some staff. Now we’re rolling out a Xerox® solution that will let us print directly from our iPads and smartphones to devices across campus. We’re also scanning documents and distributing them digitally. As a result, we’re reducing our paper costs by $250,000 and using a portion of those savings to buy more iPads.”
Our Results
- Multiphase implementation of mobile printing via iPads and smartphones
- Digital access to information via iPads enables employees to work more efficiently.
- Secure print on demand across the campus
- $250,000 in savings on paper consumption
- Hard copy documents scanned into digital format for easier sharing, distribution and printing
- Greater sustainability due to decreased printing and paper usage
- Enabled student education through innovative mobile technologies
“You need to understand new technologies and have a vision that enables you to sustain them because they change all the time. You have to know how the student is going to use that technology not just in the classroom, but in the workforce.”
– Amir Dabirian, Chief Information Officer and VP of IT, California State University at Fullerton
America’s Largest University System Moves Forward with Mobile
“Digital first” is one of the five technology strategies that the Division of Information Technology at California State University at Fullerton has adopted. Fullerton is one of the 23 campuses in the California State University system, the largest university system in the U.S. with over 400,000 students. This commitment to digital is undeniably clear on the Fullerton campus where 3,700 faculty and staff members combine higher education with high tech through an innovative iPad solution.
Anticipating Students’ Technology Needs
“Social media and mobile technologies play a huge role in our work force and our society,” says Amir Dabirian, Chief Information Officer and VP of IT for California State University at Fullerton.“We have to provide a rich learning environment beyond traditional education.”
CSU Fullerton began exploring mobile technology shortly after the iPhone® was introduced. By 2009, the university had developed iFullerton, a mobile app offering everything from campus maps to Titan radio. Mobile print was a natural next step.
Providing Printing Freedom
Fullerton is currently rolling out a mobile print solution that’s garnering early praise. Faculty members are equally enthralled. According to Kristin Stang, Associate Professor of Special Education and Director of Fullerton’s Academic Technology Center:“Even when I don’t realize I need to print until later, I can print from a device without going back to my office.”
Less Paper, More Savings
“When you go to our Academic Senate, you see faculty all around the room using iPads,” Dabirian explains. “They used to bring stacks of papers to the meetings.“Now, most of the documents are digitally distributed or digitally scanned using Xerox products.
“Xerox reduced costs by over a quarter million dollars, enabling us to spend more money on what we do best, which is higher education.”
Partners in Tomorrow’s Digital Services
Security was critical to the iPad project, as the University’s online threats can top 32 million in a month. Fortunately, Xerox mobile printing offers built-in safeguards, such as the user’s ability to control when a document releases to print.
“When everyone has an iPad, it may not seem innovative at first,” says Stang. “But when we do work while at conferences, other attendees say ‘Really? That’s from your campus?’ Our classrooms and access tools are innovative.”
“We want partnerships that move us to the next level of digital services,” concludes Dabirian.
“Xerox has enabled us to put a lot of major projects together. The more innovations our partners provide, the less I do internally and the more we do for students.”
