September 4, 2005
Sometimes, It's Not the Tuition. It's the Textbooks.
By DALE BUSS, NY TIMES

LINK

AS the school year begins, soaring tuition isn't the only financial matter on college students' minds. Many are also trying relentlessly to get a break on the rapidly climbing cost of textbooks.

Prices have risen 186 percent in two decades, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office - to the point that the average student now spends nearly $900 a year on textbooks and supplies. The climb doesn't match the one for tuition and fees, which have ballooned by 240 percent, but it is far higher than the 72 percent gain in consumer prices over that time. How do thrifty students cope? Strategies range from scouring the Internet for used books to simply using the library copy.

Clinton Creasy, a senior at New York University, spends about $300 a semester on textbooks. "I've heard a lot about Half.com, but usually the lower-priced books there have little to no availability," Mr. Creasy, 21, from Downingtown, Pa., said of one textbook sales site. This fall, he plans to cover four of his classes by sharing textbooks with two other students.

But one Texas student surely had the most extreme way of coping. Until he graduated from Angelo State University in San Angelo last spring, the student bought his textbooks each semester, traveled across the Mexican border to his hometown a couple of hundred miles away, had them photocopied for about $15 a book, far more cheaply than he could in Texas, came back to school and returned them for a full refund.

Rising textbook prices have renewed a debate about why the publishing industry prices the books so high. "Textbooks are very expensive to produce, and the market is very small - it's old math," said Bruce Hildebrand, executive director for higher education at the Association of American Publishers, a trade group in Washington. "Twenty-eight thousand professional hours go into preparing an average new edition."

But the accounting office faulted publishers for building in the costs of developing and duplicating colorful supplements and CD-based software in textbook "packages," which are also harder to buy in used form. The industry concedes that such technology has added to costs but says professors demand the innovations. The association also criticized the G.A.O.'s overall data and estimated that the average four-year college student spent only about $600 a year on books and materials.

The G.A.O. report also said the typical text was now replaced every three to four years, as opposed to four to five years two decades ago. Student advocacy groups are especially critical of the turnover for subjects like Latin and calculus, saying that there are few fresh developments to justify frequent editions.

About 150 physics professors have joined an online campaign to persuade a publisher to stop putting out new editions of "Physics for Scientists and Engineers." Its sixth edition was published by Thomson Learning last year, four years after the fifth. The professors contend that the relatively basic subject matter changes little.

Thomson, based in Stamford, Conn., repeatedly turned down requests for executives to be interviewed. A co-author of the book, John W. Jewett, a physics professor at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, did not respond to multiple phone messages. The other co-author, Raymond A. Serway, said the controversy over updates of textbooks in general "has been going on for years," but "I don't want to be a part of the whole issue. That's up to the publisher."

Merriah Fairchild, higher-education advocate at the California Student Public Interest Research Group in Sacramento, is leading the online campaign over Thomson's physics textbook. "Publishers say they are responsive to faculty demands," she said, "but every time faculty members side with students - as in this case - they ignore what faculty members say."

But Jonathan Knight, an executive of the American Association of University Professors and its expert on ethical issues, said he had not heard of any concerns about too-frequent updates of textbooks.

Some students criticize professors who assign textbooks they have written themselves. But Mr. Knight's group defends professors' right to select their own materials.

Still, skyrocketing prices of textbooks and a flood of new editions have led to calls for regulation at the state and national levels. A handful of members of Congress prompted the G.A.O. study, for example. And Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, has proposed making up to $1,000 in textbook costs tax-deductible each year.

Students, meanwhile, are finding ways to improvise. Web sites like Half.com and Amazon.com have enlarged the market beyond campus bookstores. And many students buy used books at bookstores or online.

And some take advantage of another Internet back door: buying international editions. Typically, the G.A.O. report said, textbooks meant for students abroad are a lot cheaper, reflecting publishers' assessment of the local market and the fact that higher American prices have already helped them recover their development costs.

Steve Loyola, president of Best Book Buys, an online seller, said: "In theory, they'll be identical content but will be paperback instead of hardcover, or they may lack the CD. But if you're just going to read it for class and don't care about that stuff, sometimes it might be just one-third the price." His company now notes American and international versions on its site.

But publishers are fighting back, for example, by strengthening agreements with foreign wholesalers to prevent the large-scale sale of American books back home.

MORE and more students are resorting to an old alternative: the library. During the one-year certificate program in integrated marketing she just completed at the University of Chicago, Christine Goldrick found out a few weeks ahead of each class about the books that would be used, and darted to the campus library to check them out. With a three-week checkout period, plus a three-week renewal, Ms. Goldrick, 29, could cover the program's five-week sessions.

At Princeton, Michael Brier found that most of his books were in the reserve room of the library, meaning that he could check them out for only three hours at a time. But by doing that, "I'm saving hundreds of dollars a year," said Mr. Brier, 21, a senior history major from Needham, Mass.

Other students tap into Web sites proliferating on many campuses for buying and selling used textbooks. "Most students who sell their books this way aren't looking to make money but just to get a fair price," said Harlan Cohen, author of a new book, "The Naked Roommate: And 107 Other Issues You Might Run Into in College."

More colleges are trying to help, too. At seven schools in the University of Wisconsin system, students have traditionally rented all required textbooks. This fall, the fee at the River Falls campus will be $59 for a full-time student.

"We're getting a lot of interest lately in this program from other schools," said Virgil Monroe, manager of textbook services at River Falls. "But it's quite an expensive system to establish now if you're trying to do it from scratch."

Through MBS Textbook Exchange, a big distributor of new and used textbooks, 10 colleges - including Princeton, the University of Utah and the University of Oregon - have begun offering electronic versions of some textbooks at discounts of 30 percent and more this fall. And Michael Granof, an accounting professor at the University of Texas, has proposed that publishers begin transferring their entire business model to electronic versions. Universities would pay a fee to the publisher for each student.

"But I've only gotten mixed reactions from publishers," Professor Granof said. "This is a very conservative industry. They haven't changed their way of doing business in, well, forever."

Book buying has spun out of control
Andrew Payne, technicianonline, North Carolina State University's Student Newspaper Since 1920

LINK

The campus always feels "alive" when a new school year begins. This is true about most of campus except one place -- the N.C. State Bookstore. Walking through the overly heavy bookstore doors, I get hit with a wave of anger and despair. These feelings are emanating from students who are shelling out hundreds and in some cases thousands of dollars for over-priced and useless textbooks and materials.

A recent report by the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) concluded that textbooks and other supplies are significant college expenses. Thanks for pointing out the obvious.

According to the GAO report requested last year by Representative David Wu (Democrat from Oregon), "[i]n the last two decades, college textbook prices have increased at twice the rate of inflation but have followed close behind tuition increases. Increasing at an average of six percent per year, textbook prices nearly tripled from December 1986 to December 2004, while tuition and fees increased by 240 percent and overall inflation was 72 percent."

Translation -- we are getting screwed.

The report also concluded that the cost of textbooks and supplies as a percentage of tuition and fees is 26 percent for a full-time student attending a four-year public institution, 72 percent for a full-time student attending a two-year public institution and eight percent at a four-year private institution.

What do NCSU administrators have to say about the overpriced textbook market? "We don't care!" No, not really, but I wouldn't be surprised if some didn't feel that way. In the absence of a direct quote from our friends in Holladay Hall let's turn to the NCSU website for some reaction.

"On average, a typical college student should expect to invest around $350.00 to $400.00 each semester for his or her textbooks. This cost is greatly offset by the availability of used textbooks which cost 25% less than new books and also by selling used textbooks back to the store at the end of the semester. Some disciplines may have significantly lower costs for textbooks, but others such as Engineering and Computer Science are much more technical in nature and therefore may cost a good deal more." At least they are upfront and honest, even though their estimates are about $100 less than what the federal government estimates students spend per year on textbooks.

The GAO report also found that the practice of "bundling" CD-ROMS and workbooks to textbooks to be a significant factor in why textbook prices have increased so dramatically. The report also cites a proliferation of new editions as another factor in textbook price increases.

A report by CALPIRG (California Public Interest Research Group) - Rip-off 101: How the Current Practices of the Publishing Industry Drive up the Cost of College Textbooks - found that "even though students already pay $900 a year for textbooks, textbook publishers artificially inflate the price of textbooks by adding bells and whistles to the current texts, and forcing cheaper used books off the market by producing expensive new editions of textbooks that are barely different from the previous edition."

"Rip-off 101" which is now in its second edition and available FREE of charge at www.maketextbooksaffordable.com also found that most of the faculty members that were surveyed did not think many of these support materials were helpful.

The publishing industry, the swindlers in the textbook industry, agreed with the GAO report yet they disagreed. "The Association of American Publishers (AAP) today endorsed the conclusions of a GAO study on college textbooks ... AAP did, however, express continuing concern that pricing analyses in the study do not provide a balanced picture of the actual costs to students, the range of materials available to students, or the added value those materials offer to faculty and students."

Publishers claim that the average student spends only $580 a year on textbooks as compared to the GAO's estimates of $898 a year. Who do you believe; Congress' independent investigative arm -- the GAO or the propaganda mouth of the textbook industry -- the AAP? Need some help? What if I told you that publishers give professors, departments and universities kickbacks for "assigning" certain textbooks? In 2001 a publisher gave $30,000 to Penn State University for requiring students to purchase a specific introduction to economics book. The university claims that the decision was based on the merits of the book yet the publisher says the money was for "in-kind" services.

AAP's friends in the textbook industry, the National Association of College Stores claims that in 2005 the average price of a new textbook is about $52 and approximately $40 for a used book. Who are they trying to fool? Students aren't allowed to even walk into the NCSU Bookstore without shelling out $100 or more for at least one new textbook.

Publishers claim that their primary focus is on "meeting the needs of students." Well let me clearly spell out my needs to publishing industry. "I don't need you!"

Students need to stand up and start taking matters into their own hands. Get with other students in your class and purchase one book to share. Since most professors don't use or require the entire text, make photocopies of the needed sections. Need a copier? Ask your professor to use theirs, especially if the professor requires their students to buy a textbook they authored. Despite the scare tactics of traditional book peddlers, buy your books online from overseas retailers. According to The Student PIRGs, publishers often sell their textbooks at half the U.S. price of in foreign markets.

Complaining only goes so far, and if students continue to let publishers and faculty members raid their wallets prices for textbooks will continue to soar. By the way -- thank you to all the NCSU faculty members who go out of their way to provide low cost alternatives to textbooks -- thanks!

Ripoff, 101: Textbook price reality
By Kristine Ostil

When UIC students spend about $900 a year for their textbooks, the first to blame for high prices is typically the UIC Bookstore. Rob Thompson, from the Illinois Public Interest Research Group's (Illinois PIRG) along with UIC's student government president, Shumail Alam held a seminar in the Cardinal Room Tuesday, Feb. 1, of Ripoff 101-Second Edition, presenting research done showing the textbook industry increases books' prices to attain more money from college students.

"Publishers are ripping off students by artificially inflating prices...many publishers use gimmicks rather than solid educational content to inflate textbook costs, Thompson said. "The result is diminished access to education for students, especially low income students."

Illinois PIRG and the rest of the state public interest research groups have been leading the way in exposing the practices of the textbook industry. PIRG first publicized Ripoff 101 in January 2004 and has come back to announce that college textbooks prices have increased at nearly four times the rate of inflation since their last study.

"We need to make sure that students realize they are getting ripped off... the only way we'll ever get things done is when students unite and stop the publishers," Alam said.

Among PIRG's studies, they found three major faults of the publishing industry. Those findings include that publishers claim the books' prices are not going up, yet in reality they are rapidly increasing, that unnecessary new editions tare frequently offered, which makes old books useless, forcing students to buy the new books, and that prices are significantly increased by adding CD-ROMS and workbooks, but 65% of college faculties surveyed they rarely or never used the extra items.

The last study found American students pay more for their books than other countries. Surveyed books were 20% cheaper in UK's Amazon website than the same books sold in U.S. For example, Thomson Learning, a predominantly college textbook publisher, charges UIC students $112.95 for the Experimental Organic Chemistry textbook, 2001, while the same book costs only $63.97 (American dollars) in the UK.

"College students are the most vulnerable because they know we have to buy books no matter what the price. The publishers are just taking advantage of us because they know they can," Jessica Dodson, first year Criminal Justice major, said.

Loreen J. Maxfield, Director of Retail Operations, said it is not UIC Bookstore's fault for the high prices. UIC Bookstore does their best to keep the low costs but some students still cannot afford to buy books. She believes there are ways to lower textbook prices.

"I think the college textbooks will decrease their prices. It's going to be a long term campaign but with enough pressure from the right people, the textbook industry will change their practices and the price of textbooks will come down," Thompson said.

In 2004, Illinois PIRG asked the Association of American Publishers to recommend its member companies to keep pricing costs and production as low as possible while maintaining educational value. The AAP has refused to acknowledge any of the recommendations.

States like California, Connecticut, Georgia and Illinois are paying more attention to high textbook prices due to programs like PIRG's Ripoff 101. The Office of the Governor of Illinois is working with university administrators to fix problems of high textbook prices. Congress also ordered the Government Accountability Office to investigate high textbook prices.

"There's going to be Ripoff 101 [studies and presentations] until the textbook industry stops ripping off students," Thompson said.

Ripoff 101

Teens, Technology And School
The PEW Charitable Trusts, August 2005

The Internet is an important element in the overall educational experience of many teenagers, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project. Schools are a common location where online teens access the Web, although very few online teenagers rely exclusively on their school for that Web access. Further, there is widespread agreement among teens and their parents that the Internet can be a useful tool for school. However, 37 percent of teens say they believe that too many of their peers are using the Internet to cheat. And there is some disagreement among teens and their parents about whether children must be Web-literate by the time they begin school. Additionally, large numbers of teens and adults have used the Web to search for information about colleges and universities.

The most recent Pew Internet Project survey finds that 87 percent of all youth between the ages of 12 and 17 use the Internet. That translates into about 21 million people. Of those 21 million online teens, 78 percent (or about 16 million students) say they use the Internet at school. Put another way, this means that 68 percent of all teenagers have used the Internet at school.

This represents growth of roughly 45 percent over the past four years from about 11 million teens who used the Internet in schools in late 2000. In the Pew Internet Project survey in late 2000, we found that 73 percent of those ages 12 to 17 used the Internet and that 47 percent of those in that age cohort used the Internet at school.

For a growing portion of the online teen population, schools have become an important venue for Internet use for a significant number of teens. About one in five online teens (18 percent) who use the Internet from multiple locations list school as the location where they go online most often. This figure is up from 11 percent in December 2000.

Teens, technology, and school.

What Harry Potter Can Teach
the Textbook Industry
By Diana Ravitch

LINK

As the world knows, the latest installment in the Harry Potter series sold five million copies on the first day it was available. Many thousands (or millions) of American children stood in line for hours to buy the book.

Here's the rub: the same children complain incessantly that their textbooks are boring. Whereas they hunger to get a Harry Potter book of nearly nine hundred pages, they can barely tolerate the equally large books that are assigned in school.

What does Harry Potter have that the textbooks don't?

Today's textbooks represent a major achievement in visual design. They glitter with charts, photographs, drawings, and pedagogical advice to the reader. But they are boring.

While researching a book about textbooks, I asked a major publisher why the textbooks are so heavy with graphics. He said, "American kids don't like to read anymore. They are so accustomed to watching television and the Internet that a book can't hold their attention without lots of visual stimuli."

The success of the Harry Potter series shows that this assumption is wrong. American youngsters will read books that are exciting and well written, regardless of their graphics. They devour the Potter books because author J. K. Rowling has infused them with classic themes drawn from legend and myth, as well as biblical imagery. Like J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings books, Rowling's books resonate with suspense, mystery, intrigue, and showdowns between the forces of good and evil.

In contrast to the gripping tales told by Rowling and Tolkien, our history textbooks skim lightly above the surface of events, ignoring the fact that history is first of all a story. The history books excel at mentioning vast numbers of events, people, and ideas and compressing them into short summaries of a page or two. The drama of history and biography is sacrificed to the imperative of "covering" everything in a single volume. Clashes of good and evil have been banished, replaced by pedestrian prose and thumbnail sketches.

Similarly, our reading and literature books have achieved the heights of banality. Those who assemble them are careful to weed out controversial themes, anything that might upset pressure groups from left and right. They aim not to engage students' imagination but to bolster their self-esteem. Demographic correctness--the right percentage of authors and characters from every possible segment of society--has become more important than literary excellence.

Harry Potter has triumphed because his author understands the power of story. If the story is good enough, children will take a flashlight to bed so they can keep reading after the lights are out. Unlike textbook publishers, who must screen everything they print to avoid giving offense, she is free to write about a dysfunctional family, about the moral necessity to confront evil, and about how bad things happen to good people.

There is something terribly wrong with the political process that dulls the materials in our classrooms. Our children quite rightly reject writing that has been processed and homogenized by scores of textbook committees.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Reason Foundation
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group