BRIEF: UHCL to provide scantrons and blue books to students
Starting with the spring 2020 semester, the University of Houston-Clear Lake (UHCL) students will no longer be required to purchase their own scantron forms or blue books.
A campus-wide email sent from Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs and Provost Steven J. Berberich explained that these items would be provided to students from their faculty.
“UHCL will distribute Scantron forms and blue books to faculty through their college/department and to faculty teaching in Pearland and at TMC,” Berberich said in Jan. 16 email.
The decision to no longer require students to purchase these items comes from a proposal made by Academic Affairs, Administration and Finance, after hearing that students were experiencing difficulties attaining scantrons and blue books.
“The proposal arose from reports of students have difficulties obtaining them, especially when taking classes when the bookstore or locations at Pearland and TMC were not open,” Berberich said.
The proposal was met with support across the university, including the colleges, faculty and senior leadership.
“As provost, I made the final decision and my office is funding the expense,” Berberich said.
The new policy has been met positively by students around campus, including those who have experienced difficulty obtaining these items in the past.
“I think UHCL providing professors with scantrons and blue books is great,” said Flor Gonzalez, biology major.
Easier access to these necessary testing materials has also been seen as one less thing that UHCL students will have to worry about.
“Most professors only mention needing scantrons at the beginning of the semester, so by the time the tests come around, we forget we even need them,” Gonzalez said. “We can now avoid worrying if the bookstore is open, or if they even have scantrons and blue books in stock, and just focus on passing our exams.
Although it will not be necessary for students to purchase these materials for their courses, if they still find some need to utilize them, Berberich confirmed that they will still be available for purchase at the UHCL bookstore.
