THIS WEEK most University students have one thing in common: We pay too much for textbooks. Nowadays, students are forced to shell out $300 to $1,000 per semester on top of tuition, school supplies, housing, daily maintenance and the like, an excessive and unfair obstacle on the road to a good education.
Books, of course, are a necessity. The cost is without a doubt excessive.According to The Washington Post, J. Bruce Hildebrand, higher education director for the Association of American Publishers, suggested that textbooks are more expensive than ever because they are better than ever. The bias employed in this statement exists by virtue of Hilderbrand's position. Additional workbooks, CDs, colored pages, frequently updated editions and a myriad of other improvements account for the rapid inflation of textbooks over the years. He neglects to consider that students pay more for a CD or workbook and then never use them. This waste should be curbed by excluding the extras and sticking to basics. Text books should be limited to useful and pertinent materials. It is doubtful that university students are better educated with the use of yearly new, improved and costly textbooks when the old, informative versions did the job just as well at a fraction of the cost.
In protest and out of frustration with high costs, students (myself included) have begun to purchase many books from used or discounted book Web sites. Even this solution isn't efficient or simple enough to justify the time a student expends. Though in the short run discounted books from Web sites is an acceptable solution it is clearly not a long term solution.
For a long term solution, the Virginia General Assembly last spring passed House Bill 1478. The bill encourages public universities and professors to be more aware of the cost of the books they assign, to use older editions when possible, not to order supplementary CDs and other materials with text books if they are not used and to place text book orders early so that the book store is able to purchase used books from publishing companies. Such measures could be incredibly helpful if implemented if they were mandatory.
However, House Bill 1478, which went into effect July 1, is supposed to encourage professors to be aware of the cost of the books they assign and to spur professors to put in their book request early so that used books can be purchased. So while the University book store tries to be aggressive in the purchase of used books, they are often hindered by late requests. That is, the amount of used books available at the bookstore frequently depends on professors' timeliness in ordering.
The best way to make something mandatory is by implementing consequences. Penalties should be imposed on professors who procrastinate or order superfluous materials. By imposing a fine or another substantial penalty, professors will be forced to consider books prices. To be fair, many professors are concerned about the burden the price of books pose for their student. Associate College Dean Richard Handler said, "My rule of thumb is that I try to design the best course I can for students, and one factor to be considered is the cost of the materials." Still, the most effective way to lower text book prices comes from the top down.
Last spring Jon Kates, executive director of the University Bookstore, said that he was "cautiously optimistic" about seeing lower prices this fall. Though that has not been the case in many instances, this week Kates said that the new law passed has helped the Bookstore "make strides with e-books." He went on to explain that "the University Bookstore purchased as many e-books as possible that were released by the publishers and that were going to be used in the fall." More e-books are becoming available and they are generally sold at a rate lower than the equivalent used book. Perhaps we University students will find progress through this avenue.
With or without a law, the University, with all its dedication to financial accessibility, can and should be pursuing all available avenues, including the aggressive encouragement of professors to abide by book request deadlines, to consider the cost of new editions and to discontinue the use of unessential CDs and work books. Lowering the burden of book costs for University students is one good way to demonstrate a dedication to students whose parents do not pay for books and who are forced to expend tons of money that could be used for tuition or other necessities. As for me, I will continue to be "cautiously optimistic" about lower book prices for University students while encouraging others to borrow from friends and the library and to buy from discount book sites. But in the long run, University officials must pay more than lip service to making text books available, affordable and otherwise accessible.
Christa Byker is a Cavalier Daily Opinion columnist. She can be reached at cbyker@cavalierdaily.com.
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