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Professor says sticker shock inevitable...

Why Do College Students’ Textbooks Cost So Much?


   Students returning to fall semester classes are facing stickershock in college bookstores. Textbooks that formerly ran $40 to $80 a few years ago, now cost $200 and $300 each.

Behavior Changes

   As a result, students’ textbook-buying behavior is changing.
   According to a survey of students reported in a recent Chronicle of Higher Education, more college students are viewing textbooks as recommended rather than required and are waiting to see how much the material is used before they buy them.

Materials Costs Decrease

   A 2015 survey by OnCampus Research found that student spending on class materials dropped from $638 in the 2013-14 academic year to $563 for the 2014-15 year.
   In addition to students waiting to see whether the materials will actually be used in class, part of this drop was a shift to cheaper textbook rental.

Online Packaging

   About 11 percent of students now have some courses that use new “integrated learning systems,” where the text, videos, quizzes and homework are delivered online.
   Publishers have realized at big research universities that value only research, many instructors of large classes are glad to turn over these teaching duties to a publisher’s online system. This essentially turns the lecture course into a prepackaged operation that is impersonal and standardized.

Extra Trimmings Not Necessary

   The production cost for a paper textbook is actually very low. Most $200 textbooks could be profitably sold to students for $40, if it were not for the electronic ancillaries and support services that publishers feel they must provide to compete. Those are extra “bells and whistles” that most students do not use.

Print Still Reigns

   Meanwhile, surveys of college students reveal that they continue to overwhelmingly prefer paper text over e-texts for a variety of reasons that are supported by research on deep reading, reading speed, comprehension and skimming.

No Shakedowns Allowed

   Some professors are sensitive to their students’ dilemmas and recognize the legalized extortion involved. They are encouraging colleagues to not require a textbook if they don’t use it!
   Some make textbook adoption decisions based on the best-book-at-the-cheapest-price and only adopt a text after it has been on the market a semester, so there are used books available.

Serious Quality Issues

   One solution that is not working is the use of “open source” online materials. Depending upon the discipline, there can be serious concerns with quality. Copyright-free material is often out-of-date.
   Good publishers subject texts to careful peer review that is often missing in open source materials that are cobbled together from questionable sources. And online open source materials continue to have the drawbacks of e-texts and other electronic media.

Royalties No Problem

   Royalties to authors of bonafide textbooks are rarely a factor in the high costs of textbooks.
   Copyright is not the problem driving up textbook costs.
   Thanks to Dr. John Richard Schrock for permission to reprint this insightful article. Dr. Schrock is a professor at Emporia State University in Kansas.


Graph Expo 15

   The September 13-16 Graph Expo show at McCormick Place would be a perfect time to stop by our plant and see our digital printing team in action.

Royal Treatment

   We’ll give you a tour of Copresco’s modern digital printing plant. Then, you can enjoy a cup of coffee or lunch with us.


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