New Legislation May Help Rein in Costs of College Textbooks
How many times have you bought that brand new updated edition textbook (no used editions available), swallowing the exorbitant cost, only to lose most of what you paid when you re-sold it for pennies at the end of the semester? Or worse yet, what about your “smart decision” to buy that expensive biology textbook USED, intending to sell it back at the end of the semester like the campus bookstore told you you could, only to find a new edition was released and you were stuck with a worthless book?
According to a May 7, 2007 article by Elia Powers titled “Tracking Down Textbook Data” that appeared in Inside Higher Ed, “Legislation intended to make textbook pricing and edition-change information accessible to the college faculty who order the material continues to move through state legislatures across the country.”
You Paid $200 for What?
The main idea here is that professors finally seem to be listening to the laments of their students who have complained about the outrageous costs of textbooks, to the extent that several states across the country are looking to implement legislation to that effect, as reported in the article.
What I did not know was that professors truly are not aware of the prices that students are paying, as they get the books through the college at a reduced cost, as the article stated. “‘The real crux is that faculty are rarely told how much it’s going to cost students. We want more disclosure,’ said Graeme Allen, director of university and government relations at the Minnesota State University Student Association, one of two student advocacy groups pushing the legislation,” according to the article.
Minnesota Leads Way
In order to promote disclosure of textbook costs and planned new editions, the state of Minnesota is pushing legislation that eventually may become the model for national laws addressing the key issue of textbook costs, as stated in the article:
“After a good deal of wrangling over language and provisions in the bill, a higher education conference committee of both House and Senate lawmakers adopted final language last week (it must still be passed by the full House and Senate, and signed by the governor). The ‘Textbook Disclosure, Pricing and Access Act’ says that starting in 2009, any publisher that sells or distributes course material for use in a Minnesota institution must make readily available to faculty, bookstores and institutions:
- “The title, edition, author and ISBN
- The undiscounted price at which the course materials are available to the bookstore
- Formats, including bundled or unbundled, in which those materials are offered and the
- undiscounted prices of the components, both sold separately or packaged together
- Summary of revisions between current and previous editions
- The return policy for course material, including penalties”
While the legislation has yet to become law, it seems that this is a great start to ease a critical college cost for students attending school in the state of Minnesota. However, since the legislation will not be put into play until 2009 in that state (if it passes), it appears that textbook legislation on a national basis may be a long way off.
Talk to the education financial advisors at NextStudent. They have all the information and advice you need on student loans. Check out www.nextstudent.com.
Be sure to tune in next Tuesday for my next blog about this week in student loans.
Student Loan Girl