Oakland University Student Congress has started up their program that gives students easy access to Scantrons. The program allows students to receive free Scantrons when they visit the OUSC office in the Oakland Center.

Student Body President Brandon Hanna, Student Body Vice President Jibran Ahmed, Marketing Director Tim Brown and Administrative Assistant Alexandria Jones created the program, according to Hanna.

Hanna said the program had to be, and eventually was, passed by the legislature, and this program wouldn’t be possible without them.

He said it is currently a pilot program, but he is focused on making it sustainable.

“Our goal is to continue having this program for future semesters and future years so that students can enjoy free Scantrons,” Hanna said.

Students come to the office and are allowed up to two Scantron books per visit, according to Hanna.

The Scantron choices include the 882-E — the long green option, the large pink Scantron or the 815-E — the short green option.

Once the students are given their Scantrons, they are asked to sign on to GrizzOrgs and join the OUSC page if they are not already a member of the page.

Hanna said there are three reasons why they ask students to do this.

“One, we know that they’re an Oakland student. Two, we can update them on our coming events and initiatives that we are currently working on. Three, they have a direct, additional way they can connect with us. So their voice can be heard,” Hanna said.

“We are looking to expand to blue books, as well,” Hanna said. He said OUSC is talking to two vendors for the blue books.

Once they have them, students will be able to get two Scantrons or one blue book per visit, according to Hanna.

As the program itself continues to grow, so does the marketing for it.

Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, will be the major marketing tools for spreading the word of this program, according to Brown.

“We are getting the program back out there,” he said.

Brown said now that exams are coming up, it is the perfect time for students to take advantage of the program.

“It’s the little things they appreciate,” he said.

Many students were not fully aware of the program or have vague memories of past programs like this one. 

Psychology major and fifth year senior, Emma Goodman, is familiar with similar past programs but not OUSC’s current program.

“I was under the impression that the program was canceled a few years ago and that there wasn’t really a good place to get free Scantrons on campus anymore,” Goodman said.

Though she only has one class this semester that requires Scantrons, Goodman has had to purchase a variety of them.

“I’ve had to buy multiple blue books, red Scantrons and packs of green Scantrons,” she said.

Fellow psychology major and senior, Matthew Storey, has similar memories of past programs and was also unaware of the new program.

“I was not aware of this program. From what I recall, the library used to give out free Scantrons in the past, but I thought most places had stopped doing that after the vending machines were installed,” Storey said.

Storey said he typically goes to the library to buy his Scantrons in bulk. Currently, the bookstore sells the 815-E Scantrons in packages of 15 for $1.65.

He understands that students are busy sometimes and forget to bring or buy Scantrons, and that this program will help ease their stress.

“It sounds incredibly useful and will be a lifesaver for those days when people forget to bring any or don’t have any cash on them. I think everyone ends up in one or both of those situations at least once,” Storey said.

When it comes to students supplying their own testing supplies, Storey believes that type of responsibility will help students prepare for the future.

“It never surprised me that students are required to bring their own testing materials,” Storey said. “Learning to properly prepare before doing something important, like taking an exam, is a good, albeit small, way to get yourself ready for life after graduation.”