Virginia Tech
OP-T2-40: Materials Online

Two departments share responsibility for the publication of these materials.

The Office of the University Registrar is responsible for course catalogs and course schedules. The Office of the University Registrar’s default is to publish course catalogs and course schedules online for students, faculty and staff. Please see the Office of the University Registrar’s website for more information: www.registrar.vt.edu

The Office of University Relations is responsible for publishing University Directories. The University Directory is available online at http://www.directory.unirel.vt.edu/. Additionally, there is a “people search” feature on the Virginia Tech homepage which allows any user to search for specific students, faculty and staff at Virginia Tech. The Office of University Relations limits the quantity of printed directories by restricting them to “by request” only. This practice has eliminated excess printed directories, which were previously recycled after each academic year. Quantities of printed University Directories have decreased over the last three years from 18,000 printed directories during the 2007-08 academic year to 16,000 during 2009-10 and 10,000 during 2010-11.

In 2013, a campus survey was conducted to explore the idea of eliminating the print version altogether. Based on the survey's results, University Relations concluded that a demand for the print version still exists, particularly among administrative professionals.

For 2014-15, University Relations will produce a truncated version of the directory that includes university offices, faculty, and staff. However, it will not include student listings or advertising. The directory will be made available online as a printable PDF and in very limited print copies: one per administrative/academic department unless additional copies are specifically requested. Print copies will no longer be distributed to students.

By eliminating the printing of approximately 1.44 million sheets of paper, along with the use of 381 pounds of cardboard for the shipping boxes, these changes will substantially reduce the university's environmental footprint. The news article for this can be found at: http://www.vtnews.vt.edu/notices/061614-unirel-directory.html

Clyde Cridlin, Jr. is the Assistant Registrar for the Office of the University Registrar. He can be contacted at ccridlin@vt.edu or (540) 231-5612 for questions about materials online pertaining to the Office of the University Registrar.

Melissa Richards is the Director of Marketing & Publications for the Office of University Relations. She can be contacted at mrichards@vt.edu or (540) 231-4168 for questions about materials online pertaining to University Relations.