Image by lordsutch via Flickr
With graduation ceremonies just weeks away, many students are anxiously awaiting two things: summer and receiving their diplomas.
Many companies are going paperless to help protect the environment. This has sparked an interesting question: Would college students be willing to give up paper copies of their diplomas for electronic versions? In an earlier post titled Electronic Diplomas? Noooo Way says College Students!, the author stated most college students consider themselves environmentally-friendly, according to a nationwide poll by Domtar.
Domtar conducted a survey of 420 college juniors and seniors across the U.S. between April 16 to April 20, 2010 to find the answer to this question. The study found that most college students consider themselves environmentally conscience; however, they believe paper is still essential when it comes to important documents.
Here are the results of what college students thought about the idea of converting diplomas from paper to electronic copies:
- 42% of college students think it’s a terrible idea
- 27% would be bothered by it
- 17% were unsure how they would feel
- 10% could live with the decision
- 4% love the idea
Here are some graduation statistics from Hallmark’s website from the National Center for Education Statistics about this year’s graduation expectancy.
For the 2010-2011 school year:
- 3,273,000 students are expected to graduate from high school
Colleges and Universities are expected to award:
- 798,000 associate’s degrees
- 1,669,000 bachelor’s degrees
- 659,000 master’s degrees
- 96,500 first professional degrees
- 69,600 doctoral degrees
As you can see, a lot of students will graduate this school year. I assume most feel the same way I do. I worked too hard and too long for my diploma. I want to be able to hold it in my hands on my graduation day and display it proudly in my future office.
How do you feel about the idea? Would you trade in your paper version of your diploma for an electronic version to become more environmentally-conscience? Or would you find other ways to help the environment?
Here is a YouTube videotitled “Paper – Essential for Life’s Big Moments,” which recaps the study.
