A GOOD education is one of the single greatest factors that can lead to success in today's society, opening doors for better job opportunities, higher salaries and potential career growth. More and more Americans recognize the value of education, as is evidenced by the growing number of men and women attaining at least a bachelor's degree. In fact, the U.S. Census Bureau reported in March of 2005 that workers with college degrees earned nearly double the amount of those without them. Nevertheless, with so many students seeking higher education in hopes of a better future, the cost of attending colleges and universities in the United States has soared, and Mr. Jefferson's University is no different.
One way of combating the financial toll of higher education upon students is to attempt to provide more cost-efficient alternatives to the necessities of college life. For example, the University makes an effort to make on-Grounds housing more affordable (and, at times, more convenient) than off-Grounds housing. Similarly, since we all have to eat, Virginia Dining Services offers a myriad of different meal plan options tailored to fit student needs at reasonable prices. But while the University has made an effort to cover the basic needs of a roof over our heads and food on the table, it nonetheless falls short in providing us with an economical alternative to textbooks.
In 2005, Virginia passed the Textbook Market Fairness Act that mandated that state colleges and universities post course booklists online before the start of the term to eliminate bookstore monopolies on students' textbook purchases. This act aimed to enable students to shop around for the best prices ahead of time rather than being forced to wait for the syllabus on the first day of class to purchase the required texts. The University Bookstore complied with the Textbook Market Fairness Act in word, yet the measures the Bookstore has taken to lower the cost of higher education for students really did not solve the problem at all.
Unlike other Virginia schools such as William and Mary or Virginia Tech, the University did not make textbook prices available along with the titles. Under the current system, a student could end up paying more by ordering a used book online and having to pay expensive shipping costs. In some cases, it would be more cost-effective just to buy the text at the bookstore, but students have no way of identifying which textbooks to buy here. Both William and Mary and Virginia Tech have easily accessible databases on their Web sites through which one selects the term, course and instructor and the titles and authors of the required textbooks appear, along with the new and used price of each book. Thus, students can shop effectively ahead of time and know exactly when to buy from an outside source and when to buy from the bookstore.
Jon Kates, executive director at the University Bookstore, said in an interview that many factors play into higher textbook costs for students, but he and his staff have three main items on their agenda to make learning more affordable. First, he aims to sensitize faculty members to early ordering, which allows the bookstore to purchase more used books and to buy students' books back at higher prices. Secondly, Kates has been working with several publishers to offer e-books, which the bookstore could offer at significantly lower prices.
Third, the bookstore has even considered a policy of textbook rentals for classes requiring only one or two textbooks. As far as making prices available online, Kates stressed that other institutions that make prices available online do so because they sell books online. "Since we aren't selling online, we don't feel obligated to do so," he said. Perhaps this obligation could be fulfilled if faculty members were to work more closely with the bookstore to benefit students.
While we cannot effectively lower the cost of living in Charlottesville or the tuition each student pays to attend the University, making it easier to get the best deals on textbooks could put a significant amount of cash back into students' wallets. Besides, you need that extra money for your next purchase at the bookstore.
Elizabeth Mills' column appears Thursdays in The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at emills@cavalierdaily.com.
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