Let's Talk About Texts

It's no surprise to hear that the costs of a college education are always increasing. Given the misguided priorities in Washington and in state capitols, students, parents and even the government are having to shoulder ever more of the burden of higher education.

What is more surprising, and substantially less defensible, is the skyrocketing price of textbooks. A report published by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) in July concluded that in the academic year 2003-2004, "students and their families spent over $6 billion [PDF link] on new and used textbooks."

Textbook prices have risen at twice the rate of annual inflation during the last two decades, an average of 6 percent each year since the 1987-1988 academic year. That should be a wake up call for consumers, but probably doesn't come as a shock to college students.

Today, students at four-year public schools spend roughly 26 percent of their budgets on textbooks alone. At a 2-year public institution, that cost leaps to 72 percent for a full-time student.

These outrageous numbers confirm previous studies conducted by Student Public Interest Research Groups (Student PIRGs), a network of student organizations that determined that students spend an average of $900 a year on textbooks. At a community college, textbooks can cost as much as half of the annual tuition.

"Textbook prices have become even more of an issue than when you and I were in college," said Dave Rosenfeld, Program Director for Student PIRGs. Trying to turn the tide, Rosenfeld's group approached Congressman David Wu (D-OR), who in turn requested that the GAO conduct its own investigation. Since nearly half of all undergraduates currently receive some sort of federal financial aid, Congress certainly has a vested interest in the overall costs of college education.

Both Student PIRGs and the GAO found that the primary causes of skyrocketing textbook prices are development costs. Textbook publishers routinely "bundle," or package, textbooks with CD-ROMs, workbooks and other instructional supplements in order to jack up prices. "Bundling is a reasonably recent trend," Rosenfeld said, "and in our study for the last two years, we found that over half of college textbooks are now being packaged that way."

According to the GAO, the five major publishers who dominate the college textbook market claim that increases in part-time faculty at campuses nationwide has lead to increased demand for instructional supplements. The thinking there is that web-based tutorials, CD-ROMs, and self-assessment software will contribute to higher education. Yet, the fundamental flaw with that logic is that packaging these materials with textbooks automatically precludes students from purchasing less expensive used books.

Another major factor in the high cost of educational texts is the printing of unnecessary new editions. Ten years ago, publishers would generally revise their textbooks every 4 to 5 years, whereas today that revision cycle is down to 3 to 4 years. In the GAO report, publishers claimed that updated editions are necessary to defray the costs of their investments and keep material current for faculty members. Again, however, the onslaught of frequent revisions prevents students from seeking used alternatives.

Students aren't the only ones who are outraged by the preponderance of overpriced texts. As part of the Make Textbooks Available Campaign, 500 math and 200 physics professors signed letters to textbook publisher Thomson Learning, Inc., expressing grave concern over costly revised editions. "Considering the basics of calculus haven't changed much in many, many years," said Rosenfeld, "those faculty members had a valid point."

In the L.A. Times last Sunday, J. Bruce Hildebrand, Executive Director for Higher Education at the Association of American Publishers in Washington, responded to the GAO report. "Professors want these [supplemental] materials because it improves the success rate of their students. Yes, books can be expensive, but they don't have to be. We are like a car dealer. We ask do you want leather or do you want cloth? Do you want the cheap radio or the expensive one? Whatever you want, we've got it."