Faxing still a factor in schools

Saw this article today from Tufts University’s student newspaper and thought it was worth passing along. The article interviews a number of Tufts students to get their thoughts about faxing and fax machines. Keep in mind that these students have never known a world without email and instant messaging, and most probably take texting for granted as well.

The general consensus at Tufts seems to be faxing is still used a lot for business, although many of the students aren’t sure why.

One student working in the Treasurer’s office gets it, though. He points out that often faxes are sent instead of email due to security and privacy reasons. If you’re talking about personal and private information, it actually has to be faxed by Massachusetts law.

What’s interesting is it seems this institute of higher learning is still relying on fax machines rather than an Internet fax service such as MyFax. A MyFax account would solve many of the issues the students see while still following the legal mandates for privacy.

What has your experience been? How much does the business office at the colleges or universities you deal with rely on faxing versus other forms of communication?