In April, State Senator Roberts provided two statistics related to the cost of textbooks. First, the prices have increased 300 percent since 1986.And second, the average student spends $870 per year for books. The cost is equivalent to tuition for two RWC classes.
Below are some ideas being considered to help bring down costs of textbooks.
(1) The Miami University-Middletown Library solicits faculty copies for reserve. The Library also purchases introductory textbook copies for reserve. Some copies are available to students, for overnight use. Recently, a donor provided additional funding designated for this purpose.
(2) The Columbus State College Administration coordinates a book rental program with its bookstore. Rental books are shelved with new and used books. They are made available at 40% of the cost of new books.
(3) Faculty and students across the state have asked their legislators to exempt textbooks from taxation.
(4) Similar to the practice at other universities, the UC Bookstore website lists faculty-selected textbooks by course and college, before the quarter begins. Based on the information provided, students can find competitively priced books from different sources. RWC could be added to the colleges listed at the UC site. (The master list approach avoids the disadvantages of listings on Blackboard.)
(5) OSU’s Student Government is working on a formalized method for students, from a former class, to sell their texts directly to the students in the next class.
(6) Ohio professors report directing students to open source courseware, instead of texts. (MIT is a leader in providing an extensive collection of materials online.) University academic departments report collaborating to write materials, which are sold to students, at cost. Faculty also said they make accommodations for students who own prior editions, when the new textbook edition differs insignificantly.
(7) Faculty access to Follet’s website, which lists prices, would permit comparisons when faculty select textbooks. The book publishers’ representatives described less expensive E-books and brief, customized versions, printed as hard copies. The bookstore managers identified the problem that the book warehouses will not buy back these products.
A larger number of used books are available for the bookstore to buy, if faculty submit their orders early and the bookstore places the order early.
As an added note, students at colleges on the quarter system are less likely to have access to used books. Based on the scheduling of semester courses, used books are purchased first by those on the semester plan.