Did you think the rising cost of your college tuition is bad? Then check out the rising prices of college textbooks. Between 2002 and 2013, the price of college textbooks raised 82% — nearly three times the rate of inflation, according to a recent study by the Government Accountability Office. Necessary to have for a class, these textbooks are one of the largest out of pocket expenses for college students and families, meaning that high price tags are yet another threat to the affordability of higher education in the United States. With very few exceptions, the college textbook market is not regulated by the government. Therefore, textbook prices directly reflect their supply and demand influences. This market is unique because the primary …show more content…
In a study done in 2013 by the U.S. PIRG, they found that 65% of students said that they had decided against buying a textbook because it was too expensive. Instead of threatening student success in the classroom and the accomplishment of a degree, publishers will need to stop publishing new editions so often and stop bundling learning packages with their textbooks while colleges will have to educate their faculty about the rising textbook prices, and implement textbook rental systems.
The big picture The rising costs of college textbooks are a threat to the success of students trying to acquire a higher education in the United
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They are funded in several different ways; through campus-based fees, course-based fees, or by per-book charges. Students who rent textbooks instead of purchasing them spend about 50% less a semester according to a study done by the U.S. PIRG. If a college already has a campus bookstore, setting up a rental system is quick an easy. The current staff will need to form a Textbook Rental Service Committee and establish operating guidelines. They will need to implement contracts and determine rental fees and start-up costs. The committee will be formed by students, faculty, and administrators. Most colleges already have a process set up for making group decisions. The next step would to establish guidelines for the rental system such as the rental contracts and prices for rentals. Start-up costs include information technology upgrades, expansion of textbook storage and book purchases, (Senack, 12). There is no formula to determine how much a rental system will cost to set up. However, colleges will need to set the student fees at a price to sustain the program over a long period of time. Secondly, the Committee should educate the college’s faculty on the prices of new edition textbooks and the difference from older editions. This can be done by holding a meeting every semester, which will not be a problem since the college most likely already
As McArdle points out, the cost for a college education has gone up over the years, leaving students in debt. I agree with this statement, because a college education was more affordable years ago and now it has doubled it’s cost. According to the article, McArdle states “The average price of all goods and services has risen about 50 percent. But the price of a college
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...
The skyrocketing price of college tuition is causing a tremendous concern over whether higher education will be a viable financial concept to the average citizen over the next decades. Some families have opted to explore different means of obtaining a higher education for their children as these costs escalate. There is overwhelming evidence that colleges need to restructure the way they are run because tuition prices are increasing at a rapid rate causing changes in the way students fund their education and in the way the government provides educational subsidies.
... Textbook Prices Increasing Faster Than Tuition And Inflation." Http://www.huffingtonpost.com/. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2013.
Ask any college student to state one of their largest expenses and it would be safe to bet the response would be “Textbook prices!” The cost of purchasing required materials for courses has reached numbers high enough to cause many students to take out second loans. Information released this year by the American Enterprise Institute shows that “College textbook prices have increased faster than tuition, health care costs and housing prices, all of which have risen faster than inflation” (Kingkade, 2013). This information equates to an 812% increase in the cost of college textbooks over what they were just over thirty years ago (Kingkade, 2013). The figure here shows an unusually large increase that has far outpaced that of average inflation.
From conducting this survey, I learned that many students,whether they attend a public or a private school are unsatisfied with the rising tuition prices. The findings support my hypothesis. The next step in this research would to ask more college students about their thoughts and opinions about rising tuition prices. I would ask more students from different types of college and students taking on different types of degree. An implication this research could have for other research is that rising tuition prices are hurting students financially.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, college tuition and relevant fees have increased by 893 percent (“College costs and the CPI”). 893 percent is a very daunting percentage considering that it has surpassed the rise in the costs of Medicare, food, and housing. As America is trying to pull out of a recession, many students are looking for higher education so they can attain a gratified job. However, their vision is being stained by the dreadful rise in college costs. College tuition is rising beyond inflation. Such an immense rise in tuition has many serious implications for students; for example, fewer students are attending private colleges, fewer students are staying enrolled in college, and fewer students are working in the fields in which they majored in.
College isn’t all about bookwork. College is a place to have and experience new things. If a ceiling was set on tuition there would be almost no money to fund extracurricular activities such athletic and cultural facilities and other programs. Also colleges would not be able to pay for extensive libraries and new technology for students without tuition.
Even though there's no exact answer to what it costs to go to college today, it is possible to make a good guess. Figure out what kind of school you want to attend and find out how much it costs to attend. From there, tack on an estimated percentage increase — five percent per year is a good guess(Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation, 2014). According to Merkein(2013) the average sticker prices at the nation's four-year public universities rose 2.9% this year, the smallest annual increase in more than three decades, suggesting that the steeper increases over the past few years "did not signal a new era of accelerating prices," says a report out Wednesday(Merkein , 2013). “A college education is one of the best investments that students and families can make,” Coleman (Hechinger, 2013). Yet ...
Those who think a college education is not worth it believe that college can become a setback in life due to the thousands of dollars that college students are spending on tuition and books. Students who attend college will not have the money to purchase a home, spend money on family, vacations, or any other costly items and bills. On the other hand, most college students end up paying for their college loans all of their life or go into debt. They will never have money to rely on since their credit cards will be racking up interest for college loans that need to be paid off. As stated by Paul Taylor in Michelle Adam’s report, the cost of a college education has been at a record level and the cost of tuition and fees has more than tripled which is causing a rise in student debt (58). With rising prices, the economy is making it more difficult for people to afford a college education.
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.
"As Costs of Textbooks Rise, E-books Emerge as More Affordable Alternative." The Daily Illini. Brittany Gibson, n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
That day I got to know that even the cost of books had a direct impact on how many or which classes students took. Even some students try to get through classes without buying the books, which has affected their grades badly. A 2014 study conducted by the Student Public Interest Research Group found 65 percent of students skipped purchasing a textbook because of cost(Senack11). Along with these problems, some professors demand a specific edition of textbooks which would cost hundreds of dollars more than the older version and the only difference students could find is the physical appearance of the books. The California Student Public Interest Research Group published a study in 2004 that found new editions cost 58 percent more than older editions and newer editions are not that different from previous
First of all, buying an e-book is cheaper than a printed book. As a student who is studying in college, I know students have to buy text books for all the classes. According to an article from website, “average price of best-selling e-books is $5-$11, and most text-books’ price is around $200 which are selling in bookstore even rental books should cost 50% of the new books’ price.” We can immediately know that e-books are much cheaper than printed