Final answer:
The cost of printer paper in a college setting is a direct cost to the institution, but it's allocated as an indirect cost to individual student instruction, because it cannot be linked to a single department or cost object.
Step-by-step explanation:
The cost of printer paper on a college campus would be a direct cost to the college but would need to be allocated as an indirect cost to individual student instruction. In the context of accounting and cost allocation within an educational institution, direct costs are those that can be directly traced to a specific cost object, such as a department or a project. Indirect costs, on the other hand, are expenses that benefit multiple cost objects and cannot be traced to a single one without some method of allocation. Printer paper serves all students across various departments and is thus categorized as an indirect expense. When the university allocates the cost of printer paper, it distributes the expense across different instructional activities based on an equitable and logical method, reflecting the usage by individual student instruction.