Tired of forking over big bucks to the University Bookstore for textbooks in addition to tuition? The Virginia General Assembly seems to be on your side: Legislators passed a bill March 8 requiring colleges to brainstorm guidelines to help cut the costs for college textbooks statewide.
Some suggested guidelines include continuing to use older editions of books when the newer editions do not change radically, advance notification from professors if they decide to use the same edition again and separating textbooks from supplementary materials like workbooks and CD-ROMs, according to The Washington Post.
When third-year College student Rory Schmidt first heard about the bill, she said she was enthusiastic about the lowered costs.
"It's a great idea," Schmidt said. "I don't know what there is to not like."
But her opinions changed slightly after she learned the bill consisted more of recommendations than hard cost-cutting.
"I'm not sure how effective it will be," Schmidt said.
Second-year College student Kimberly Holihan said she still believed the bill will help, despite the feeling the bill will lack enforcement.
"It's still good, as long as it's lowering the cost," Holihan said. "It doesn't seem like that big of a request. It'd be unreasonable for the professors to take up the difference of the costs."
Jon Kates, executive director of the University Bookstore, also said the bill would be effective overall.
"My sense is that the bill has teeth," Kates said. "We're very much in favor. If the substance of the bill is followed by all those with responsibility enumerated by the bill," it will be effective, Kates said.
On top of the problems the bill attempted to solve, Schmidt listed others she had experienced at the University.
"The Bookstore has a two-week return period, so sometimes even if you drop a class you can't return a book" after the two weeks are up, Schmidt said. "That's a really frustrating part of the system."
Many students try to find cheaper prices for books by shopping online, but Schmidt noted difficulties when she tried this alternative.
"Unless I e-mail a professor or can find a syllabus online, I find it hard to get advance reading lists," Schmidt said.
Kates said the Bookstore faces similar problems with professors turning in textbook requests on time and posts textbook requirements for classes as soon as they receive confirmation from professors.
"We're required by law to publish course information when it is submitted," Kates said.
Holihan said she could suggest another problem the bill should tackle: bookstore monopolies.
"We need more competition for the Bookstore," Holihan said. "There's the Corner bookstore, but there's a monopoly for the student bookstore. They can charge whatever they want."
Kates said he disagreed with the image of the University Bookstore's monopoly on textbooks because of the other bookstores near Grounds and multiple online sites to buy books.
"The real lack of competition is something in the publishing world that would drive them to control costs," Kates said. "The competition in publishing is for adopting the book, and then the price is irrelevant."
Opponents of the bill argue costs are rising because of the new information in each new addition of the textbooks. Schmidt said she does not agree -- she cited a philosophy class where she bought an older edition of the textbook that was not much different than the newer edition.
"I don't know how much better newer editions are than the old editions, but I guess it depends on the subject," Schmidt said.
Holihan said even if newer additions of textbooks contain more updated information, students should not have to pay more for them.
"If it didn't cost more to print the book, we shouldn't have to pay more," Holihan said. "It's not that the materials are better, it's just better information."
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