Between 2002 and 2013 the price for textbooks have risen 82%, which is 3 times the rate of inflation according to a recent study found by the U.S Government Accountability Office. (6) Affordability of post tuition expenses, which include textbooks, food, living space, and class materials, may present a challenge to students who struggle pulling extra money out to buy the needed material for classrooms. On average students will be spending 1,200 dollars a year on textbooks. For a college student, that could mean meals for the whole school year, or the class they need for more credits. The price of textbooks is skyrocketing which leaves a lot of students trying to find alternatives on spending a great deal on books. Although all colleges give …show more content…
Open textbooks are a great option that may expand the market and bring more competition to a market that has very high barriers of entry. The open textbook will allow students to access the course textbook online for free with an option to purchase the hard copy at a reasonable price. According to a study done by the Student PIRGs, 82% of students felt they would do significantly better in a course if the textbook was available free online and buying a hard copy was optional. (Fixing the Broken Textbook Market 12) Some professors across the nation have already adopted this alternative for their courses. Irene Duranczyk, a professor at the University of Michigan offers an open textbook for her statistics course. An interview between Irene and editor from USA TODAY Herb Weisbaum, Irene stated, “the online material is high quality and can be customized to fit my teaching style.” ("Cost of College Textbooks out of Control, Group Says.") Technology is advancing and our libraries are becoming more digital and convenient and so should our classes. High textbook prices will continue to be a problem for students so if colleges implemented open textbooks in all courses it would be great for the textbook market. It will create competition, forcing publishers to lower their prices. Open textbooks will also create a better learning experience for students and give them more money in their
This article, “Why Are Textbooks So Expensive?” by Henry Roediger reveals the truth of why textbooks are so pricey. He shows how textbooks prices are costly not because of inflation, corporate textbook companies, and frequent revisions, but because of the sale of used textbooks. The article is elaborating on why used textbooks are the real culprit as well. One main point that is highlighted is that used textbooks are resold for many years. The initial selling of the textbook is the only time the author will make a profit, but the bookstore will make a profit every time they resell a used book. It is essential for the author to raise the price to compensate for the loss of money when dealing with used textbooks.
In a recent study that was conducted the rate of individuals attending college has increased. This increase in students comes at a time when the country has been described as being in a recession. With job losses, companies closing and lack of job availability many people are returning to school. This return to the classroom comes at a cost. The rate of college tuition has risen in the last few years. In my home state of Kentucky, it appears both of the major Universities have asked to raise tuition every other year. When college cost rise so does the tools needed to attend college. One of the most expensive tools is books. Last year I enrolled my son in college when calculating the books for his classes, we soon learned that the cost of his books and the cost of my books were almost on month’s salary. My family soon learned if we were going to be able to not only attend college but have the necessary tools needed, we would have to consider alternatives to buying books. I did some research and soon discovered that technology had again come to the rescue. I found a company called Chegg that is an online book rental company. This company provides students with an alternative to buying books by renting them for a portion of the price. According to their article in CrunchBase named “Chegg edit” the company began at Iowa University in 2005 as a “hyper-local” classified directory. It was not until 2007 that the company introduced their textbook rental service. When looking at the company from an Information Systems standpoint I would say it ranks up there with the creative ideas of the century. You go online type in your order and it is processed within a matter of days. During the next portion of this paper we will loo...
In his essay “Colleges Should Mandate That All Textbooks Be Digitized,” Mark Pensky, software designer and author of Teaching Digital Natives: Partnering for Real Learning and Digital Natives to Digital Wisdom, takes the position that colleges should ban non-electronic books to improve teaching and learning. Some of the issues he speaks to are; what a bookless college would look like, moving education into the 21st century, addressing pushback of the social and cultural norms, creating enhancements to the educational system, the advantages of having an all digital campus, and the roles of teachers and college surrounding this subject of banning non-digital textbooks.
...university needs to stop requiring packaged materials and should move away from textbooks that require one-time access codes. Also, they can reuse textbooks for several semesters because the core information remains the same from edition to edition, eliminating the need to constantly replace the stock with every new edition. Students would be held responsible for the condition of their assigned book, and will also be given the option of keeping it at the end of the semester. In either case, the school has options in place to recover the cost of the textbook should a student destroy or decide to keep a specific book. By implementing such a program, students at the University of Delaware will be less inclined to resort to illegal measures to save money, and they will certainly be less likely to incur even more debt as the cost of college tuition continues to rise.
Through connection and communication, work ethic has improved in schools especially when a student’s score means a lot to school funding. The old ways of using textbooks can cause back pain when carrying it around everywhere and kill trees when making them. With new editions of a textbook being published it creates more worry for schools since it can cost a fortune to buy each book for classrooms to stay updated to the newest information.
Overpriced textbooks are an issue that needs to be addressed more seriously and strived to fix. After all, the price of textbooks in the United States are double that of what they are in oversea
The cost of college text books has escalated dramatically in the past three and a half decades, increasing more than 800%, and students are feeling the financial pinch. The U.S. Public Interest Research Group reported 70% of surveyed students at more than a dozen colleges did not purchase required text books because they couldn't afford the high price, which in some cases is as much as 75% of the average tuition rate. Many students are searching for less expensive options such as buying popular textbooks from discount retailers like TextbookRush online. This article includes a brief description of the 10 top selling textbooks and at least one career path for students taking a course using the text.
In conclusion, America provides many ways to help reduce the cost of college textbooks but society is still not satisfied with the outcome. The Open Textbook, Affordable Textbook Act, and book store rentals are wonderful programs, but has its disadvantages that hopefully would be resolved in the 2016 presidential elections. The statistics show that many students across the nation benefit from learning with quality of teaching, the amount of accessibility it provides without having to worry about paying off student loans. School administrations should consider about transferring to an act that would benefit both the school and the students, but also provide more equality to the publishers and students.
College textbooks should be purchased by the students just as always but not by the school and loaned to students for the duration of a course. Since students already get free textbooks back when they were in high school, it is the time for them to live on their own. Students who pay for textbooks themselves can get benefits in many ways. Although the costs, for college books are not cheap, there are justifiable reasons to pay the money. Nothing is free in life; Students have to adapt their life sooner for the future competitive marketing world.
Should colleges/universities provide students with free textbooks? We believe the students should be provided with free textbooks. Students need to have free textbooks for the fact that they are very expensive. Not many students can afford to pay for their textbooks, thus leading to having complications with keeping up with high grades in school. The money that is being wasted on education that is very important can be used for financial reasons such as paying for food, room and boards, classes that they are taking, and etc.
Open source textbooks can be a great solution to decrease the expenses on the textbooks as all the resources are available on the internet for free. In addition, it can be accessible anywhere at any time so, students shouldn’t carry heavy textbooks all the time. Although, some might argue that many students have habit to study from hard copies or textbooks; they can easily download and print from the open source textbook which might cost only 20 – 40 dollars to print compared to hundreds of dollars on text books. Moreover, it can be easily edited by teachers as per their need, and students can learn what their teachers really want them to focus on. Yet, some might argue that why would professors waste their time editing textbooks when they can easily recommend textbooks to students. Though, they can recommend; the textbooks might always miss something or write more about something which the professor require or don’t respectively. Also, editing the open source textbook is not like writing a textbook which consumes a lot of time, it’s just adding or removing some necessary or unnecessary information. Hence, another problem of buying older versions or new versions books per the teacher’s choice can be easily
Hernandez, Danya Perez. "Post Navigation." Wired Campus Open Textbooks Could Help Students Financially and Academically Comments. Chronicle.com, 28 Jan. 2014. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.
“Digital Textbooks May Save Schools $250 Per Student Per Year.” Electronista. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 May 2014.
“A text-book is any manual of instruction, a book containing a presentation of the principles of the subject used as a basis of instruction.” (Webster 's Dictionary). With the internet as a tool, there is a plethora of accessible information. However, most classrooms are still teaching children with textbooks. These textbooks are used in the classroom, but not accessible at home where the child needs them. Children utilize textbooks as an accessible go-to guide and reference to assist in reinforcing the teachings done in the classroom. Textbooks are needed to prepare the student and revisit the subject matter discussed in class. Even the most attentive child will miss something during a lecture, so being able to self-teach through the use of a textbook is essential. If children are not given access to their textbooks to use as a reference, how will they know how to utilize reference materials once they approach higher education? Textbooks are considered “An easy-to-use “second voice” in the course, available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year in a random-access format that allows students to move at their own pace, regardless of their education backgrounds” (Lichtenberg). They are also “tangible proof that students have been presented with information essential for learning the curriculum in question”
Open source textbooks can be a great solution to decrease the expenses on the textbooks, as all the resources are available on the internet for free. In addition, it can be accessed anywhere at any time, so students shouldn’t carry heavy textbooks with them. Although, some might argue that many students have a habit to study from hard copies of textbooks; they can easily download and print from the open source textbook off the internet which might cost only 20 – 40 dollars to print, compared to hundreds of dollars spent on textbooks. Moreover, it can be easily edited by professors as needed, and students can learn what their professors really want them to focus on. Yet, some might still argue why professors would waste their time editing textbooks when they can easily recommend them to students. Though, they can recommend, the textbooks might always miss something or write more about something which the professor requires or do not require respectively. Also, editing the open source textbook isn’t like writing a whole new textbook, which consumes a lot of time; it’s just adding or removing some necessary or unnecessary information, which can be done easily. Hence, another problem of buying older versions or new versions of books per the teacher’s choice can be easily