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Textbook travails

They're costly, but solution isn't to go after publishers

The Rocky

Published November 30, 2007 at 12:05 a.m.

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Rising textbook prices are giving students sticker shock at campuses not only in Colorado but across the country. More than a dozen states are considering legislation targeting textbook publishers, and Colorado may join that list next year.

The version of the federal higher education bill that passed the House and is pending in the Senate would also impose new mandates on textbook companies.

The cure would be much worse than the disease, and could easily violate publishers' First Amendment rights.

Here in Colorado, several student organizations are considering pushing for legislation next year that would tackle escalating costs. The legislation could require publishers to disclose when new editions are coming out, so students won't be stuck with obsolete books that have little resale value; inform colleges of the retail and wholesale prices of their publications; and let students buy unbundled versions of texts that do not include CD-ROMs and study guides, because those extras drive up prices. Those moves would mirror provisions in the federal higher-ed bill.

As a matter of principle, we're leery of any moves that would let the government regulate publishers. Forcing a textbook company to disclose its pricing structure might seem harmless. But that mandate could easily morph into price controls, or caps on the profits a publisher can make on its materials.

Price controls would discourage textbook companies from updating their content if new editions are more expensive to produce, shortchanging students in fields where the base of knowledge is constantly evolving, especially science and technology.

Clearly, textbook costs can take a bite out of a student's (or parent's) budget. Recent studies from the Government Accountability Office and the College Board have found that full-time students at public colleges can expect to spend between $700 and $1,000 a year on books and related supplies.

Still, a report issued in May by the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance - a panel established by Congress to offer policy advice for the Department of Education - noted that other high-ticket items have risen even faster than textbook costs.

From 1987 to 2004, textbook prices went up by roughly 100 percent, or nearly twice the inflation rate. Meantime, at four-year colleges, room and board costs grew by about 120 percent . . . and tuition and fees soared by nearly 250 percent.

Each of those expenses dwarf textbook costs.

The report, available at www.ed.gov/acsfa, spells out immediate and long-term steps that can be taken to rein in textbook costs.

Many are obvious - encourage students to explore the used textbook marketplace; expect university libraries to keep digital copies of textbooks on reserve so students don't have to buy them; urge publishers to make more materials available online - especially updates; prod universities to join together and purchase popular textbooks in bulk.

Professors can help, too, by not assigning the newest or most specialized texts when more generic, less costly versions have all the necessary information.

The diversity of materials used to teach college students and the decentralized nature of higher education in the United States make cookie-cutter solutions inappropriate, if not unconstitutional. Giving students more power as consumers will let academic freedom flourish.

Comments

  • November 30, 2007

    9:30 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    kathyM writes:

    I'm a college instructor, and I'm appalled at the high cost of textbooks. It's disgusting when a new edition is not substantially different from the old edition because the added cost is not justified.

    Also, not all instructors have the freedom to choose their texts. Some texts are mandated due to departmental or college curriculum requirements, and to help control textbook costs.

    But what bothers me is that some students--and colleges--are more concerned about resale than the value of the information in the textbook! Colleges encourage students to keep the books as pristine as possible for resale. Understandable, but this makes students miss out on the maximum learning experience. Interacting with the textbook--highlighting, writing notes in margins, underlining, even doodling--promotes deeper learning. Scientific studies support this fact.

    Yes, college is expensive. I worked multiple jobs and had 10 years of student loan payments, so I can relate. But college is about putting learning first, and I'm not sure all students are doing that. When I hear students bragging about their newest electronic gizmo or their spring break to Florida--then in the same breath complaining about textbook costs--I have a hard time sympathizing.

  • November 30, 2007

    11 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    yaakovwatkins writes:

    99 percent of all textbooks are written by professors. A job requirement could be instituted that any professor writing a textbook would be required to publish it as a CD also. Since the obvious environmental savings would be popular among academics, this would catch on quickly.

    Having participated in the creation of a book, I know that creating a CD is easier. Even if it took 2 or 3 CD's it would be much cheaper and much better for the environment.

  • November 30, 2007

    6:35 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    jjbhs writes:

    Its mind boggling that a company in the business of publishing would come to the aid of textbook publishers. "As a matter of principle, we're leery of any moves that would let the government regulate publishers." This editorial was clearly written out of fear. Newspapers should not put their self interests in the way of intelligent reporting. This is just another example of the misuse of editorial discourse that, on a consistent basis, is being practiced by the Denver Newspaper Agency. How can the citizens of Colorado make informed decisions when their source for news carries such a blatant bias on a number of issues?

  • December 1, 2007

    4:10 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    D4SCEO writes:

    I know this is a lot of information to take in. I can easily summarize it this way. I feel Follett is breaking FTC Monopoly laws, intentionally overcharging students, and making a lot of people at Follett rich instead of using education dollars to educate our children. They restrict book information so that students are forced to use their on-campus bookstore. They underpay for used textbooks (each college has a contract that states what they should pay as a buyback minimum), overcharge when they resell these textbooks (again, the contract states they SHALL NOT sell used textbooks for more than 75% of the current new text selling price), and at least here at DBCC, all financial instruments issued by the college are only good at the campus bookstore (Pell Grants, Book loans etc.) which prevents the student from competitively shopping (internet book prices are 40-70% cheaper).

    If you have any ideas on how I can get the national media involved or if you know of a government or private agency that could help me I would greatly appreciate your assistance. If you have any personal feedback, I would greatly appreciate that as well. Their actions have financially devastated my family, ruined my civic reputation, and have dramatically decreased my employability as a teacher. I feel they are trying to "out money" me and frankly, right now, they are doing a good job of it. I can no longer even afford the maintenance fees on the two free bookswap websites I set up for students at DBCC and UCF.

    Thanks so much in advance for your assistance, I genuinely look forward to all opinions of my situation. If you have any questions, feel free to call or email anytime.

    Sincerely,

    Thomas F. Rebman
    LT, USN Retired
    Cell: (386) 689-8407, Hm: (386) 760-7484
    Email: RebmanThomas@aol.com

  • December 1, 2007

    4:11 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    D4SCEO writes:

    My name is Thomas Rebman and I am currently a student at Daytona Beach Community College. A highly decorated, retired, 23 year Naval Officer, I am obtaining my Elementary Education Degree so that I can teach Elementary School as my next career.

    If you need any background information on my current situation just email me and I will email the MS Word document. My reason for posting here on your wall is I could use your advice on what resources are available within the Education community to assist me. I have tried to reach out to every government and private organization I can think of, to no avail. Although I have gotten support from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), and the ACLU, the college does not seem to want to correct the problem. I am now trying to inform the public at large about my discovery that Follett Higher Education Group (a $200 Billion a year company with 700+ campus bookstores throughout the country) is willfully and intentionally defrauding students against the contracts in place to protect the students.

    I also want the public to know that at least one college president, D. Kent Sharples, of Daytona Beach Community College, has chosen to ignore mounds of irrefutable evidence that this is, in fact, taking place. As a matter of fact, he has mistakenly gone one step further. He has chosen to personally attack me, kick me off campus with police (I am 6 credits short of my AA degree), and has stated to the local media that I "slapped" someone. I believe he has done this because pressure exerted by Follett, who incidentally paid the college approximately $500,000 dollars last year (we have an enrollment of around 11,000 students) as the college's share of their revenues.

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