A plan of action for an increasingly large education burden

Author: Sara Hilbert

College students are being pushed to new levels of creativity, not in their studies or community involvement, but merely for survival with the frustrating costs of textbooks. USPIRG has studied the rise of textbook costs, claiming that students spend as much as $900 a year on textbooks. In a technical field, this expense can increase by as much as double. Largely due to insufficient communication about the textbook market, publishers can get away with these rising costs. These lofty expenses result from new editions constantly produced every three and a half years, even with subjects that have not changed significantly. These same publishers also”bundle” study guides, CD-ROMs, and extra materials with a textbook that significantly increase a textbook without the option to purchase the textbook only.

To put it all in perspective, a Government Accountability Office study shows that textbook prices have been rising at double the rate of inflation over the past two decades.

The cost challenges force students to share textbooks, hunt for bargains online, set up book fairs, or, worse, do without. When given enough time, students can find the very same textbook and class material overseas for almost 90% less (Michelle Singletary Washington Post column “The Color of Money” interviewed on NPR). The only downfall with buying internationally is the longer shipping time. This option is less valuable because most colleges do not give out book lists in a reasonable time to purchase online. Worse, some college bookstores do not make the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) available, restricting students from purchasing low-cost textbooks.

You can imagine the support when Representative Julia Carson sponsored “College Textbook Affordability and Transparency Act of 2007″(HR 3512). The proposal was introduced only 3 months before Julia tragically passed away from cancer. Julia’s bill would ensure that college textbooks and supplemental materials are available and affordable. Carson hoped , and her long list of cosponsors are still pursuing, to inform students about the costs of textbooks before registering for classes in order to be aware of the full cost of higher education. This bill has three main points. First, to encourage students to purchase early and always look for used editions. Second, this bill would require universities and faculty to review materials and editions that are required, without compromising high quality course materials or purchase unnecessary editions. The third point H.R.3512 emphasizes is timeliness. Timing truly is everything; schools would be required to disclose textbook lists, costs and ISBN numbers soon enough to students to give them a fair chance at accessing textbook costs in time. Despite the fact that it may not be the most effective way of cutting down costs, the bill interestingly enough seeks to give out a full history of revisions for the college textbook and/or supplemental materials that helps explain the real difference and what will be missed between editions.

While entailing a comprehensive list of objectives, H.R.3512 marks the beginning of what should become one of the most important objectives in reforming our higher education system. It is unnecessary in its entirety to keep such a costly, unneeded structure for such necessary materials in place.