A Textbook Case
Over the last two years my husband and I have been paying for college textbooks for a niece -- and I'm telling you, I get a sharp pain in my heart every semester when she calls to tell us her total bill.
Of course I'm not alone in this sticker shock. Seems the cost of textbooks have increased at twice the rate of inflation. In the 2003-2004 academic year, students and their families spent more than $6 billion on new and used textbooks.
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I wrote about this issue in my column today. Already my e-mail inbox is filling up with comments and suggestions about this issue.
Bob Roane from Maryland wrote: "I wanted to share with you something I learned from my daughter, who just finished her first year at U-Va. Not only do the books carry a high price tag ... but in several of her classes this past year, the professor pointed out to the students that the textbook wasn't really necessary and that tests etc. would be based solely on lecture materials. Unfortunately ... she had already purchased and written her name in the book!!! She was able to sell books back to the bookstore, but at a greatly reduced price because they were now considered to be 'used.' So, another piece of advice would be to wait until after the first class to buy the book. Also, there is a Web site, www.ratemyprofessor.com, that provides student feedback on specific college courses and it often points out whether the text is a necessity."
Good advice, but keep in mind -- as I point out in my column -- that if you wait, the bookstore might run out of used copies.
Ann, a recent graduate of the University of Maryland-College Park, wrote: "Textbook prices are definitely a big deal for students. I want to say that contrary to what the publishers claim, most professors not only don't care about the bundled packs, but they often
don't even know about them! Usually, when we would ask professors if we need the workbook or CD in the bundled package, the reply was, 'What are you talking about?'"
Ann and others who wrote to me complained that some professors don't get their book requests in on time, forcing the bookstore to rush-order them, meaning the store can't predict what used books it has to buy back.
Finally, here's a note I got from a tenure-track professor that I think you will find fascinating. She asked to remain anonymous "because what I have to say may not endear me to some of my colleagues and I don't have tenure yet!"
She wrote: "My first year, I had to give a list of books I was assigning just a month after I was offered the job. I tried to find the cost of the textbooks and it was difficult -- the publisher didn't make it easy. I was only able to find the cost of one textbook and the rest I just had to hope weren't too expensive.
"Now that I have time to develop my syllabi, I work hard at trying to find out the prices. ... A lot of times, I literally have to pick up the phone and call the publisher (which means waiting on hold etc.). It can take 15 minutes or sometimes much longer for each textbook."
Here what this professor does to help save her students money (you will understand a lot of this if you read my column from today's paper):
