Rising textbook prices discourage college students from purchasing

Sophomore Hannah Knight said she probably would have done better in her chemistry class if she had paid the $200 price tag on the textbook.

“I would borrow other people’s CHEM 101 textbooks when I didn’t understand something,” said Knight. “It was a huge hassle.”

Although colleges have taken baby steps to relieving the student burden of rising textbook prices, a recent survey conducted by the Student Public Interest Research Group found that a majority of students forwent purchasing textbooks.

“It is not unusual for students to pay $200 for a textbook,” said Kalila Zunes-Wolfe, the program associate for N.C. Public Interest Research Group Education Fund. “With modern technology, it’s totally unnecessary for textbooks to cost this much.”

The survey, which included UNC-system schools among more than 150 campuses across the country and more than 2,000 students, found that 65 percent of students admitted to not buying a textbook because of its cost. And of those students, 94 percent expressed concern about how this would negatively impact their grade.

The report also suggests that students are opting out of classes because of the costs associated with textbooks.

Ethan Senack, the study’s author, said researchers wanted to highlight how textbook prices have undermined students’ educational opportunities.

“Textbooks are the most expensive out-of-pocket expense for students and families already struggling to afford college,” he said.

Kelly Hanner, UNC’s course materials manager, said UNC has begun to offer some alternatives for students, such as guaranteed buyback programs, e-books, rentals and used book options.

Hanner said the rental option, introduced in fall 2012, was less popular this year, even though more than 75 percent of books required for UNC courses this semester are offered for rent.

Andi Sporkin, spokeswoman for the American Association of Publishers, said in an email that publishers have been working to make textbooks and other course materials more affordable. She said the study doesn’t recognize those alternatives.

According to the study’s press release, publishers have been able to dominate the textbook market because they produce slightly different editions that are just, if not more, as expensive than the previous editions.

As a result, the prices of used books rise as well.

Middlemen, such as Amazon.com, have entered the market, providing more outlets for students to find their books.

“Unlike other markets, the students don’t get to choose their books,” Zunes-Wolfe said. “They can’t shop around and find the most affordable option, meaning there’s no consumer control on the market.”

Senack said the price of textbooks will not be driven down until so-called “open textbooks” become readily available to schools. Open textbooks, which are online and accessible to anyone, allow professors to update their texts and are free for students, he said.

Mitchell Levy, executive director of College Open Textbooks, said textbooks are a good place to start when looking at college affordability — and the change needs to come from the administration.

“The individual teacher can make a difference, but if they are fighting upstream to make it work, it really has to be a top-down initiative,” he said.

Dave Ernst, spokesman for the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota, said his department has created a catalog that pulls all available open source textbooks together in one place for faculty to use.

“We’re trying to remove barriers from faculty who want to do this,” he said.

Beginning in fall 2012, 10 faculty members at Minnesota committed to using open textbooks, and Ernst estimates that they have already saved students $200,000.

“You can imagine what would happen if it was someone with a large enrollment class,” he said. “It would be huge.”

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